


The Sickness

by starzki



Category: Full Metal Panic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombies, F/M, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-17
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-12 03:52:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 56,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/806898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starzki/pseuds/starzki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate Universe. Sousuke Sagara is the long standing, long suffering bodyguard of Lady Kaname, the only daughter in a wealthy family. She has recently been married off to a distant cousin in the hopes that she produce an heir and will never be forced to leave her home. No one expected the zombie apocalypse. In time, it’s only Sousuke and Kaname fighting for survival and just hoping not to get bitten in this strange, new world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own _Full Metal Panic_ or any of its characters. I am not profiting in any way from writing this fanfiction. _Full Metal Panic!_ is written by Shoji Gatoh and illustrated by Douji Shiki and the anime is produced by Gonzo.

-x-

Author's Note 1: I honestly have no idea why I'm writing this fic except for the idea came to me and wouldn't let me go. A zombie _Full Metal Panic_ fic – what am I thinking? I have pages of notes written for this story and I actually know where it's heading (though I'm sure I'll surprise myself with the details). There aren't a lot of _Full Metal Panic_ Alternate Universes. Generally, I do try to stay away from AUs, both reading them and writing them. But as I said, this one just wouldn't let me go. For the zombie mythology that will be used in this story, major props go out to the following: _Dawn of the Dead_ , _World War Z_ , _High School of the Dead_ , _Left 4 Dead_ , _Zombies, Run!_ , _Shaun of the Dead_ , _Planet Terror_ , and _The Walking Dead_. For a girl who's terrified of zombies, I seem to surround myself with them. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**The Sickness**

By Starzki

-z-

**1\. This Is It, The Apocalypse**

-z-

 **The day it all began** started out like almost every other day.

Things were going according to routine. Sousuke awoke early, around 6:00AM, checked in with the house's perimeter guards via walkie talkie and learned that there were no signs of trouble.

In the hour or so before Lady Kaname Watanabe awoke, Sousuke inspected his weapon cache. He double checked that all of the rifles, hand guns, and shot guns were unloaded with the safeties on, but with ammo available and ready at a moment's notice. The same went for the explosives that lined his weapons closet. Everything was as it should be.

Next, he took the opportunity to clean the guns he had practiced with at the range the day before, his favorites: the Glock 29 handgun and the Steyr SPP semiautomatic. He accomplished this task with his usual quick efficiency.

Sousuke put away all of his weapons but the Glock, which he holstered, then went to the bathroom attached to his small room and washed the cleaning solvent and gun oil from his hands. From that position, he could hear the pipes running water to Kaname's bathroom one room over. She was awake. It was time for Sousuke to go to work.

He was tasked with being with Lady Kaname nearly every moment she was not in her room. And when she was in her room, he was supposed to be in the room just outside her door. He was her personal body guard and had been so since they had been 16 years old.

Lady Kaname was the only child of Shunya Chidori, the heir to the Shou Manufacturing Company that was responsible for creating transportation technologies. Their engineering breakthroughs could be found in anything from cars to airplanes. They were the biggest employer of citizens in Western City and the surrounding areas. The Chidori family was one of the wealthiest in the country and, as such, had many enemies and people who would try to exploit or harm them for a profit.

In fact, Kaname's mother had been murdered in a botched kidnapping attack when Kaname was only 12 years old. Since then, Lord Chidori had turned his estate into a well-defended compound and ensured that Kaname had a personal guard with her whenever possible.

"Good morning, Lady Kaname," greeted Sousuke as his charge left her room and entered his. Her quarters were nearly the entire second story of the main house's East wing. It only was accessible through a guarded staircase that ended in Sousuke's room. From there, he allowed any visitors access to her room personally. There was never really a time that Sousuke wasn't sure where Kaname was or who she was with. It made his job of protecting her that much easier.

Kaname grunted in response to Sousuke. She wasn't mad at him, he knew. She just wasn't a morning person and Wednesday breakfasts with her father were not her favorite. He'd gotten to know her well in the three years, give or take, that he'd been her bodyguard.

"Are you feeling okay, Lady Kaname?" Sousuke asked as they descended the staircase on their way to the small dining room.

Kaname gave Sousuke a sideways glance and answered his question with one of her own. "Why would you ask?"

"You have a doctor's appointment scheduled for later this morning. I wasn't sure if something was wrong. You really need to keep me informed if you're not feeling well. It is my duty to protect you and I can only do that if I can be sure of your capabilities. For example, I wouldn't plan an escape where we would have to run at top speed if I knew that you had a sprained ankle."

"Ugh, idiot," was her answer, but Sousuke could see that she was suppressing a smile and he wasn't exactly sure why. "Yes," she continued with some forced irritability, "I get it. I'm completely fine. It's just a check-up." Kaname's expression changed to one that was more serious. "Yamato reminded me this weekend that I hadn't had one for a while."

"Ah. I wasn't aware that Lord Watanabe was keeping up with your appointments." Sousuke had tried, but he didn't manage to keep the acid out of his voice.

"He's my husband. Of course he cares about my health," said Kaname defensively.

"Of course. I apologize," said Sousuke as they entered the morning room.

Most other mornings during the week, Sousuke and Kaname ate breakfast together in a room just off the kitchen. It was a huge breach of etiquette for the lady of the house to eat with what was essentially a servant, but it made their mornings much less of a production and it gave Sousuke an opportunity to eat. Wednesdays, though, she was to eat with her father in the small dining room without argument.

This Wednesday was no different. Lord Chidori read the newspaper business section and sipped at his coffee. Kaname poked at half of a grapefruit. Sousuke endured the awkward silence by keeping a steady eye on the doorways as well as out the floor-to-ceiling windows lining one wall of the room.

Finally, at what seemed like the appointed time, Lord Chidori set his cup in its saucer and folded the paper and put it aside. Kaname set down her spoon, folded her hands, and kept her eyes on the table. Sousuke braced himself for the usual Wednesday morning lecture.

"Kaname, I hope you realize that I would have done anything for the Shou Company to have passed into your hands. I wanted nothing but financial security for you as well as a way to employ yourself in useful work. Sadly, though, you were not born a boy and the entail under which the company operates states that only males can be legitimate heirs for possession of Shou Manufacturing. It is out of my hands."

Sousuke suppressed his grimace. Lord Chidori started his lecture the same way every time, even that first Wednesday Sousuke had ever accompanied Kaname to breakfast. He wondered if Lord Chidori noticed, or even cared, that Kaname hated any mention of the entail that essentially robbed her of her birthright based on archaic beliefs of gender roles. In the old days she would fume to Sousuke about it, ranting that she wasn't even sure if she even wanted the company if her ancestors were such idiots.

Lord Chidori continued. "Despite not being an heir, you do have a deep responsibility to this family. You have been raised in the finest house in the country and taught by the best teachers I have been able to find. I have not deprived you or treated you any differently than I would have treated a son."

Sousuke wondered at this, too. Kaname was cut off from the world outside of the compound for the most part. She had never gone to school and, as far as he knew, had no real friends her own age. Until he had come along, she had been very alone.

"Your responsibility to this family does not end with your marriage."

Ah, thought Sousuke. Here's the purpose of the lecture this week.

"You were an obstinate child and you resisted this marriage for a long time, yes?"

"Yes father," she answered, not raising her eyes from a point in the table midway between them.

"You are lucky that Yamato was so patient. It is he who is heir to the Shou Company and he did not have to offer to marry you. The moment that I passed away, any wife of his that he had chosen would have, and could have, swept you out of this house, out of the only home you've ever known."

"Yes, father," she answered, her voice dull.

"But you did come to your senses and realized your duty to this family, to me, to remain her and keep up our traditions, as well as the traditions of your new family, in the house that has always been the home of the president of Shou."

Sousuke remembered those arguments well. Back then, Kaname had been more willing to fight with her father. She had been argumentative and stubborn. Inwardly, he had rooted for her in her willingness to throw off their expectations and see what life had to offer elsewhere. But Sousuke knew that his reasons for siding with her back then were purely selfish. He was in love with her, he had been since about twenty minutes after meeting her for the first time. He didn't want to see her in a marriage of convenience to a stranger.

But in the end, Lord Chidori had sent Kaname away to meet and live with Yamato Watanabe and his family. She would learn their traditions, and come to understand the realities she faced if she did not agree to the union. Sousuke had not been invited to go with her. She had been gone for three months. Sousuke wasn't even sure if he would have a job when she returned. She had come home six months ago, a newlywed. Any hope Sousuke had secretly had about being with her as more than a bodyguard dissolved away completely.

"What I can't understand, Kaname, is why your husband does not live with us in the main house. Have you not tried convincing him? You realize that it makes it look like your marriage is a sham or that you two do not represent a united front. We will not have a scandal in this house, young lady. Not while I'm alive!"

"Father," Kaname pinned Lord Chidori with her stare. "Yamato wishes to stay in the small cottage on the North end of the compound. He has not grown up with this much luxury and it will take him time to become accustomed to it and all of our routines. As his wife, I will respect his wishes and see to it that he is happy with me. There will be no scandal, I promise."

Sousuke did not doubt this. Yamato was not someone that Sousuke could imagine being embroiled in any trouble. He was… bland. He was normal height, had a slight-to-medium build, dark hair, gentle eyes, and glasses. He looked like every business man that Sousuke had ever seen.

"It doesn't look good," Lord Chidori finished, but he did not press the issue. Breakfast was over. Sousuke was sure that they would probably hear this lecture again next Wednesday morning, but the status quo with Kaname's relationship with Yamato remained for now.

Sousuke tried not to dislike Yamato. If not for him being married to Kaname, Sousuke would have probably been on friendlier terms with the man. He was unremarkable: quiet, unobtrusive, and polite and kind to Kaname. Sousuke couldn't have wished for a better match for Kaname, really, and with Yamato, she got to stay in her house with everyone she had always known. Furthermore, Sousuke got to remain close to her.

Kaname and Sousuke watched Lord Chidori leave the room and Kaname finally relaxed in her chair, resuming her grapefruit breakfast. Sousuke kept his eyes active. No matter what, he would protect Kaname.

Truthfully, staying close to Lady Kaname was all that Sousuke truly cared about. When they had first met at age 16, Sousuke was a hard young man who had done most of his growing up on the streets of Western City. Kaname had been a fiery, sheltered, demanding girl with a quick temper who had never managed to keep a personal bodyguard around for more than just a few months. Sousuke had fallen for her after she had smacked him with her harisen for wrestling her to the ground when he had mistaken one of the gardeners for a potential kidnapper.

She had more fight and spirit than anyone he had ever known and the job of protecting her with his life was more than a paycheck to him. It was his reason for waking up in the morning. And he had proven his worth by foiling a kidnapping attempt on Kaname mere weeks after being hired. Both Lord Chidori and Kaname had been pleased with his work and he suddenly had more of a home than he had ever known in his life. He would protect it with everything he had.

-z-

Though her days of tutoring and governesses were over, Kaname still loved learning about the outside world, even if she rarely saw it. After breakfast, she led her bodyguard into the house's main library.

Kaname read. Sousuke radioed the head guard at the gates and asked for a status report. Everything was nominal.

Everything was quiet.

-z-

At the appointed time, Sousuke reminded Kaname of her doctor's appointment. She seemed more thoughtful than usual to him, but he didn't press the issue. Before she had been sent away, they'd had a close relationship where she had confided in him. She had taught him, learned from him, teased him, and even had flirted a little. They'd had a strong connection that was now muted. Maybe it was gone. In any case, Sousuke didn't have the right to demand she share her thoughts with him.

Sousuke talked to the driver about the route to the doctor's office. Kaname huffed from the back of the car, annoyed at the delay and show of thoroughness, but Sousuke wanted absolutely no surprises.

The trip to the doctor's office was only five minutes long. Kaname rolled the window down.

"It's amazing how warm it is out," said Kaname. She was right, the mid-February day seemed almost balmy after the recent frozen weather. "I hope it sticks around."

-z-

Sousuke stood at attention on the other side of the exam room door, ever vigilant. Sousuke figured that a large percentage of his recent life could be described as waiting on the other side of the door for Kaname to finish what she was doing.

It could be worse than just waiting for Kaname to finish a physical exam.

In the past six months, about once a week, he'd endured admitting Yamato to Kaname's room at night after dinner. He would never abandon his post, so, in those moments, he would do whatever he could to distract himself from the reality of what was going on with her and Yamato behind closed doors.

However, even though the walls between their rooms were made intentionally thin so that Kaname's bodyguard would be able to tell if something was happening to her, Sousuke never heard the smallest sound from the couple during these nights.

It was his own personal Hell, but the alternative, quitting, leaving her, was completely unthinkable.

Kaname emerged from the exam room holding a large bottle of pills. She let out a shaky sigh and ran her fingers through her hair in a gesture that Sousuke immediately recognized as extreme nervousness from Kaname.

This immediately put Sousuke on edge. She was so rarely nervous. Something must have happened.

"Is everything all right, Lady Kaname?" Sousuke asked, unholstering his firearm, ready to push the door open once again and confront whatever danger was there.

"Sousuke, wait!" Kaname said, grabbing his arm, halting his progression. "I'm completely fine. Really."

Sousuke looked at the pills and back at Kaname questioningly. She huffed a laugh and stuffed them into her purse. "Just vitamins."

Sousuke peered carefully into Kaname's eyes, searching for signs she was reassuring him under duress, that someone else had threatened her into placating him. He saw nothing like that.

In fact, Kaname was giving him the happiest smile he'd seen on her face in months. It was like he was looking at the old Kaname. The one who wasn't married and burdened so much by duty to her family. Something loosened between Sousuke's shoulder blades and suddenly that connection between them was back.

Kaname dropped her hand from Sousuke's arm and looked around self-consciously. She recomposed herself and their moment ended. But it had been there. Sousuke was hopeful it would someday be there again. He knew he could never be with Kaname in the way he wanted. She was of a rich, prominent family with ties to royalty. He was no one: a servant. It could never be.

But he could be with her, and that was enough for Sousuke. For her, he could endure anything.

-z-

The rest of the day followed the normal routine. They spent time in the garden so Kaname could take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather. Sousuke's regular checks to the guards on the perimeter were all normal and quiet.

The late afternoon took Sousuke and Kaname to the house's kitchen. Kaname loved cooking. Though her father disliked that she found an interest where she socialized more with the servants than with the other prominent families in the area, she still spent every afternoon learning about food and helping the staff put together dinners for the family and any guests they had.

It was also the one time of the day that Kaname and Sousuke were separated. All entrances to the kitchen were well guarded and the art of cooking never appealed to Sousuke. He would instead take those hours to go down to the gun range for target practice, exercise, eat, help plan or make changes to the security protocols, and shower and change for the evening.

Sousuke shouldered on his nicer dinner jacket. He would not be sitting for dinner, but Lord Chidori liked all staff, even the bodyguards, to dress for dinner. Sousuke figured that Chidori was trying to make dinner seem as normal as possible for everyone there.

Sousuke knocked on Kaname's door. "Are you ready?"

"Just a minute."

"Who's coming to dinner?" Sousuke asked to make conversation. A small part of him was hoping that she would open up the door and smile at him like she had done earlier.

"Father will be there, of course. And Yamato and his mother. Just family, really." She opened the door in her favorite dinner dress, the simple blue one that complimented her curves. It never failed to render him speechless.

"Shall we, then?" Kaname asked.

-z-

The day it all began had been like most other days in the Chidori compound. The change came at dinner.

As soon as everyone was seated, Kaname cleared her throat.

"Excuse me everyone. I have an announcement to make."

Kaname had their undivided attention. She took a deep breath and broke into another ecstatic smile.

"Well, I don't know how else to tell everyone this, but to just say it out loud. I'm pregnant. Yamato and I will be having a baby."

After a moment to process what she said, the dining room was suddenly filled with happy cheers and congratulations for the expectant mother.

Sousuke was surprised that his first reaction was to be elated for Kaname. She would be such an excellent mother and the fact that she was so happy at the news meant that this was a huge blessing within the house.

"How far along are you, child," Lady Watanabe asked.

"Seven weeks. Dr. Ishii said that my due date is September 3rd."

"Oh, darling, this makes me so happy," said Yamato, visibly pleased. He also looked relieved, like the weight of the world was off of his shoulders.

"I'm happy, too, Yamato."

"Congratulations, Kaname, dear," joined Lord Chidori. "With luck, this child will be a boy and the Shou company's future will be ensured for many years to come.

"Yes father."

Sousuke didn't know why, but at that comment from Lord Chidori, he immediately wished that Kaname's baby would be a girl. A little girl with her mother's beauty, wit, and temper who would never let something like a stupid entail on the family business keep her down. A little girl just like her mother.

Everyone had stood up and gathered around Kaname asking questions and embracing her. She held them off a little and begged to be excused for a moment. She needed to use the facilities.

Kaname turned to Sousuke, "That okay?"

"It's not a problem." Sousuke didn't miss the frown from Lord Chidori at the slip of etiquette at the informal response, but everyone was still too giddy at the news to pay it much mind.

The two left the dining room, through the East, seldomly-used door that led to both a bathroom and a small patio that had been in disrepair through the winter months. Sousuke trailed Kaname closely.

Once in the hallway, Kaname spun on Sousuke and began giggling. She then launched herself at Sousuke, throwing her arms around his neck in her glee.

"Can you believe it, Sousuke? I'm really going to have a baby!"

"Why didn't you tell me before, at the doctor's office?" He couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. Again, like before, it was their same old easy connection.

"I wanted to tell everyone at the same time." She took a step back and studied his face. "You're really happy for me?"

"Of course. You are… your happiness is important to me. And seeing you like this is all I ever want for you."

"Sousuke," Kaname's smile slipped a notch. "I know it's weird. But I think things will get a lot more… normal… once the baby's born."

Sousuke didn't know what to make of that comment, but accepted it anyway. A child living in this house would be a wonderful thing.

"I'm glad you're happy for me," Kaname said. "Let's go back in and have a nice dinner for once."

Sousuke nodded, pleased when she held his gaze with a twinkling eye a touch longer than she had to. He opened the dining room door for her.

They entered to a scene of some confusion. Apparently Kiku, one of the kitchen maids, had stumbled into the dining room and collapsed, coughing violently. She had a large wound on her upper arm that had been bleeding quite badly. The wound radiated both dark red and green striations the likes of which Sousuke had never seen, and he had seen his fair share of injuries as a boy.

"Kiku?" said Kaname as she stepped forward to tend the girl she knew from the kitchen. Sousuke caught her arm and forced her behind him while he radioed the perimeter.

"Sousuke, stop. We have to help Kiku!"

After a brief moment of static, Sousuke could hear the voice of the head guard, Abe. "We've got this under control, Sagara."

Lord Chidori, also being shielded by his bodyguard barked at Kaname, "Listen to Sousuke."

"What exactly is going on?" Sousuke asked into the walkie's receiver.

Yamato had run to the girl and helped her hunch over so that she wouldn't aspirate the blood that was now resulting from her unremitting coughs. Kiku looked up wildly, her eyes so bloodshot they were almost black. Her hacking gave way to violent convulsions that flipped her onto her back like a dying fish.

Kaname screamed and Sousuke did what he could to keep her from running to the girl while he assessed the situation, unholstering his gun. The voice from the radio squawked "Some villager was sick and asking for help. We've called the doctor."

Lady Watanabe was crying and making her way to the door, too upset to witness the situation further. Kiku kept convulsing until she came to a sudden stop. Sousuke yelled to Yamato's mother that she should stay in the room, but she waved him off.

"Kiku?" asked Yamato, his fingers searching her neck for a pulse. "Kiku, are you okay?" Yamato looked to Lord Chidori. "I can't find a pulse! We have to call a doctor!"

The walkie in Sousuke's hand crackled to life. "Oh God. He woke back up. Something's wrong! We'll have to call the police!"

"Don't panic and use the proper channel, Abe," ordered Sousuke, his attention moving between Kiku's body and the door.

Lord Chidori's bodyguard made for the phone in the hallway. Kaname was crying softly behind Sousuke, her hands fisted in the back of his dinner jacket. He could feel her trembling. What was going on?

"Is she dead?" Kaname finally asked.

"Yes, I think so," Yamato answered.

As if to object, Kiku suddenly gave a low moan, causing everyone in the room to gasp.

The radio came to life again, "Oh God. Oh God! Don't—" was all Abe said before the transmission died once again.

"She's okay?" Kaname asked, her voice small, but hopeful.

"Maybe," answered Yamato. He leaned his ear down to listen for her breath.

"Yamato! Step away from her!" Sousuke trained his gun on the South door.

In that moment, Kiku's bloodshot eyes sprung open and she gave an inhuman screech. Then, her arms shot up and she grabbed Yamato's head.

Sousuke could hear the click of her teeth when she tore into the flesh of Yamato's neck. It was in that moment that Sousuke knew that life as he had known it was over forever.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

AN2: I have notes, mood music, and my thoughts on writing this chapter available over on Dreamwidth or Livejournal if you look under the tag "The Sickness." Thanks for reading! Let me know if you liked it!


	2. You've Arrived at Panic Station

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke has to keep Kaname and her father safe in a house full of the walking dead.

**The Sickness**

By Starzki

-x-

**2\. You've Arrived at Panic Station**

-z-

Kiku flung Yamato off of her. Arterial blood arced and splattered all around him. The only sound from Yamato was a soft gurgling that became muffled as he fell to the floor, clutching at what remained of his neck. Sousuke stepped backward, pushing Kaname further toward the wall. He could hear her breath coming in short, too-fast gasps. He was afraid she was either going to scream or pass out and he hoped that she would be strong enough so that he didn't fall into panic, himself.

Kiku rose to her feet in a jerky fashion. She was _chewing_ the hunk of flesh that used to be Yamato's neck as blood and gore coursed down her chin. Sousuke concentrated on just protecting Kaname in a supreme effort to quell his nausea.

"What's happening?" squeaked Kaname.

"I don't know. Just stay behind me. You too, Lord Chidori." The older man obeyed, not taking his eyes off of the slowly approaching kitchen maid.

Blood from Yamato now stained the collar of her crisp, white apron. Her expression was blank, completely slack but for her working jaw snapping her teeth together. Kiku raised her arms out in front of her, fingers reaching out as she took one small, stilted step after another. Another low, agonized moan escaped her lips, sending chills down Sousuke's spine.

"What are you going to do?" Kaname whispered. Sousuke could feel her breath on his neck.

"We're going to get out of here."

Kiku lurched toward them, effectively cutting them off from both exits. Sousuke leveled his gun at her.

"Stop now!" he ordered her. She tilted her head at the sound of her voice and only began closing the distance between them more quickly.

"Stop or I'll shoot!"

"Sousuke, no!" breathed Kaname.

"She _killed_ Yamato!" Yamato still lay in a large pool of blood, eyes rolled back in his head. He wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. Nothing could be done for the man now.

"He's right, Kaname. Do what you have to do, Sousuke," said Lord Chidori

With Kiku's fingers only inches away, Sousuke pulled the trigger. Three shots, tightly clustered, hit Kiku directly in the center of her chest and she staggered back a few steps from the force of the impact. Sousuke expected her to crumble to the floor, but instead, she just moaned again and began walking toward the trio once more.

"Dear God!" was Lord Chidori's response. Kaname only whimpered.

Sousuke was at a loss. Kiku should be down. He'd had to kill people before. It was never anything he relished, but it was a part of his job, a part of his life, and he knew how to do it well. Something different was going on and Sousuke knew he had to rely on his instincts to save his own life as well as Kaname's and her father's.

Well, if bullets in the heart wouldn't stop Kiku, Sousuke's only other option was a bullet to her brain. He squeezed the trigger again and shot her through the eye. This time she did fall. This time she stayed down for good.

Sousuke checked his radio again. All he heard was screaming.

With an eye on both doors to the room, Sousuke gathered Kaname and Lord Chidori in front of him. "I don't know what's going on. Therefore, we're going to treat this like a siege on the house. Protocol dictates we go to the safe room. East Wing upstairs is the closest. Stay with me. Nothing else matters right now but to get the two of you out of harm's way."

Both nodded at Sousuke, only to whip around when they heard another low moan. This time, though, it was coming from Yamato, not Kiku.

"Oh God," breathed Kaname, her eyes wide in horror as she watched Yamato struggle to sit up. His head bobbled and finally came to a rest on his left shoulder because the mangled muscles resulting from Kiku's sharp teeth wouldn't allow him to hold his head up straight. He moaned again and struggled to his feet.

"We run. Now!" ordered Sousuke, leading the way to the nearer door that could take them to the East Wing. He held onto Kaname's wrist, unsure if the shock of what was going on would immobilize her. She stumbled at first, but could keep up. He could feel her rapid, thready pulse beneath his fingertips.

Lord Chidori stayed directly behind Sousuke, following protocol to the letter.

"Just where is Ichise?" growled Lord Chidori. His bodyguard should have been back by now. Sousuke mentally prepared himself for the worst.

After opening the door to the hallway, Sousuke froze.

He had seen awful things before. He'd survived horrors and been followed closely by Death ever since he was just a little boy. If anyone was prepared for what was next, Sousuke knew that he was. But he could have never imagined anything like the scene before him as he opened the door to the main hall.

Blood was everywhere. It stained the carpeting and spattered the walls. The smell of it, rust and salt, assaulted Sousuke's senses. There was a near constant groaning and crying from all around him. At least four bodies lay sprawled out on the floor to his right and the door blocked his view to the left. Between one and three people were hunched over each body and it took Sousuke a moment to realize that they were all _eating_ the people laying there. Panic rose in Sousuke's throat as he watched people he knew being torn apart with teeth and fingers.

Kaname's free hand shot up to her mouth, clamping it over it firmly to prevent her own scream. Lord Chidori only gasped.

Sousuke quickly recognized two of the fallen figures as Ichise, Lord Chidori's bodyguard, and Lady Watanabe. The creatures were unknown to Sousuke, but they weren't dressed as visitors to the Chidori compound usually were. They wore more casual clothes, similar in style to the latest fashions of Western City and the village just beyond the compound gates.

"Sousuke!" Kaname hissed, startled. "Yamato… is coming after us!" Out of the corner of his eye, Sousuke saw it was true. Yamato was lurching in their direction, head lolling on his neck, arms outstretched. There was no mistaking that the man was dead, but still able to move.

"Lord Chidori, run directly in front of me and make your way to the main staircase. Give those things a wide berth. I will follow you. Stop if I tell you to. Kaname, you stay directly behind me, understand?" Sousuke needed to be close to both of his charges if they were going to make it to the staircase alive.

Lord Chidori bolted down the hallway with Sousuke and Kaname in quick pursuit. The creatures—they were people once, but they all had the same slack expression Kiku did, the same gnashing teeth and dead eyes—looked up at the sound of the trio's footsteps. A few made lunges at their legs and ankles, but Sousuke put a bullet between the eyes of each one who tried. Kaname startled and gasped at every gunshot, but she kept up admirably.

Sousuke heard shots up ahead. It both comforted him and made him nervous. There were still guards alive and fighting, but there was chaos ahead, too.

At the doorway to the main hall staircase, Sousuke halted a bit to change the magazine in his gun. He had three bullets left, but wanted a fresh clip just in case. He moved ahead of Lord Chidori and peeked through the doorway.

It was worse than he thought.

Sousuke wasn't sure how, but the house had become littered with stumbling, obviously dead creatures. Some of them he began to recognize as kitchen staff. Whatever this intrusion was, it seemed to have started at the kitchen at first, even though he only heard the first peep of trouble from the main gate.

Sousuke swiveled his gun at movement to his left and saw a fellow guard firing on a group of creatures that were closing in on him. He was also favoring his left shoulder where Sousuke could see a spreading stain. Familiar dark red and green striations climbed his neck.

"Takashi! You're injured! What's going on?"

"Sagara!" Sousuke entered the hall, glad to see that Lord Chidori and Kaname stayed close, both of them following the protocol set out and practiced at least once a year.

"Takashi, what' is going on here?" Sousuke roared, masking his fear with anger.

"Don't know. It was just some sick villagers."

"You're supposed to report in any potential threats!"

"These didn't seem like threats! But then they started dying and we concentrated on finding help. Then, I don't know what happened! They're dead and they're walking around and it _makes no damned sense_!" In fact, a group of four creatures were creeping in on Takashi while another five were trying to surround Sousuke's trio. "And these fuckers _won't go down_!"

"Aim for the head, Takashi!"

He did so and each retort of the four shots he fired was followed by the thud of a body hitting the floor. Takashi then crumbled in a fit of coughing. He glanced back up with bloodshot eyes.

"I'm bit, Sagara. From what I can see, one bite kills you, even if it's not a fatal wound. Then you come back as one of _these_."

Sousuke kept his gun trained on the nearest creature. "You'll be fine, Takashi," he said. "We just need to barricade…"

Sousuke was interrupted by another gunshot. Takashi fell to the floor. He had put his gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Takashi's blood and brains splattered over the white carpet of the bottom stair of the grand staircase.

This time, Kaname did scream. Loudly and long. They hadn't expected his suicide and Sousuke knew that Kaname was at her breaking point. She had to be, given the fact that Sousuke was quickly reaching his own.

Lord Chidori grabbed Kaname by her shoulders and gave her a shake. "Quiet, girl!" he hissed. "You'll bring from all over the house!" This quelled her scream, but her eyes still held the terrorized look of a wounded animal.

Sousuke fired off two shots into the closest zombie, felling him. More kept showing up and two were already on the staircase. They had moments until they would be overtaken.

"Chidori!" Sousuke yelled. "You go up the stairs first. I'll cover you and bring up Kaname with me!"

"Got it," he answered before hurtling himself up the stairs without hesitation. Sousuke used three bullets to take down the shamblers on the stairs, concentrating on not getting Lord Chidori caught in the crossfire.

"Sousuke! Behind you!" yelled Kaname just as Sousuke felt strong fingers grab hold of his jacket. He couldn't whirl on it. He couldn't think of a way he could fight back.

Kaname lunged at the creature pushing it with everything she had. Sousuke felt more than heard the click of its teeth a mere hair's breadth away from his ear before it started falling backward with the force of Kaname's push. It still had Sousuke's jacket, so he wriggled out of it as fast as he could, switching his gun from one hand to another. Then he spun, fired, killing it, before taking out the nearest three creatures to him and Kaname with three more bullets.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again," he gritted out through clenched teeth as he grabbed her wrist once more and they ran up the stairs after Kaname's father.

"You're welcome," she responded, voice raw and hurt. He knew she had a point, but it had been way too close to grasping at _her_ rather than hanging onto Sousuke's jacket. He couldn't be so sloppy if they were going to survive.

They turned into the East wing, Lord Chidori motioning for them to hurry up and enter Sousuke's room, signaling, in his own way, that it was clear. At the back wall of Sousuke's room, Sousuke found the keypad to the safe room. He punched the number that only four people in the house knew, and the reinforced steel door clanged open.

The three entered and locked the door, and the carnage, behind them.

-z-

Sousuke watched Lord Chidori repeat himself into the phone's receiver from his end of the desk in the safe room's command center. It seemed as though the older man was having as little luck getting any information from those in control at Shou Manufacturing as Sousuke was from any of the guards here at the compound.

"So you're saying that people were just showing up sick? Then they started attacking people?" he repeated for the fourth time. Lord Chidori looked to Sousuke, "Why hadn't we heard anything about this before this evening?"

Sousuke could only shake his head before changing the channel on the walkie talkie and calling out for a response from someone, anyone still able to speak to him.

It had only been two hours since they had made it to the safe room and they were no closer to figuring out what was going on. Everything had just happened too quickly. From what Sousuke was able to put together, villagers had come to various entrances complaining of being sick and needing help. They would collapse, then revive and start attacking people. These people in turn would be killed outright, as Yamato had, or else they, too, would become sick. Everyone bitten would then revive. It was like the spreading of some kind of infection that created violence. As far as he could tell, Sousuke thought that of everyone in the house, only he, Lord Chidori, and Kaname had escaped infection.

Sousuke also monitored the images from closed circuit cameras that had been installed in various points in the mansion. He mashed keys and turned dials to watch the bitten die and the infected roam the halls, searching for any survivors to devour. He kept a careful eye on the footage from the camera just outside the safe room door for any infected who followed them up the stairs and wished he had had the foresight to install more cameras not only in the house, but in the rest of the compound as well. He needed to know the extent of whatever it was that was going on.

"Hello?" squawked the radio in Sousuke's hand. "Anyone there?"

"Yes! This is Sagara! Who is this? Over."

"Yuki. There's a group of five of us barricaded in the South tower. Those… _things_ … are trying to break in. But we've managed to hold them off. Ammo supplies are low. We don't think we'll make it to the main house. Over."

"Save as much ammo as you can. Headshots will take these things down. Don't waste any bullets otherwise. Over."

"Roger that. We've learned as much. What should we do, Sagara? There's about a dozen outside the door and we're not sure if the structure will hold up much longer. The only other exit will take us out of the compound. Over."

The walkie was snatched from Sousuke's hand, "This is Shunya Chidori, Yuki. My daughter and I are safe. Are any of you bitten?"

After a moment, the reply came. "No. We're clean. Over."

"Good. You do not have to come to the main house. If you can escape the tower and find better shelter, do it. If you have families, try to go to them. You are under no obligation to remain on the compound. Your lives and the lives of your families are what are important now. Do what you have to do to survive. I thank you for your service to me and my family."

Again, there was another long pause before the speaker crackled back to life. "Roger. I think we can make it out of here. Thank you, Lord Chidori. Over and out."

Sousuke had wanted to argue, but then saw the logic behind Lord Chidori's command. The five survivors probably would not have made it to the main house unbitten as it was now practically swarming with infected villagers, servants, and guards. Having them leave gave them a shot at surviving, as well as ensuring there would be five less infected in the compound for them to deal with later.

Sousuke heard the door to Kaname's bedroom open. She had locked herself in there moments after they had entered the safe room. Her soft eyes were large with shock, but they were dry. Sousuke could see her trembling still, but that was to be expected with the recent events. She cleared her throat.

"Umm. You should see this.

-z-

The nervous-looking news anchor didn't have much news to share. The only thing that she was able to confirm was the fact that the infected _did_ truly die before they came back to life as shambling, violent aggressors who seemed intent on spreading whatever sickness they had to everyone still living.

"Holy shit," breathed Kaname at the news. "All those people. They're all dying. They're dead." Her words didn't rise above a harsh whisper, but Sousuke could see that she was struggling. Lord Chidori seemed to be processing, too, as he sat on the edge of the bed staring into the 15 inch television with his head in his hands.

Sousuke didn't figure he had the luxury of trying to figure out how or why things had changed so dramatically in the last few hours. He had to stay alive. Fear and panic had made him weak earlier and now was no time for weaknesses. He had to protect Kaname and her father. He had to act and react based on what he knew about this riskier world. Something inside of him realigned and shifted as he slipped into Survival Mode, wearing the attitude like an old coat of armor that had served him well in the past.

The safe room would hold out, he knew. The doors were solid and would stand up to even a bombing. They had enough provisions for four people to survive a week, a working toilet and shower hooked up to an independent well system on the Chidori compound, and enough beds and bedding to be comfortable in their stay.

Now, it was time to wait and gather information in order to increase their chances of survival when they did have to leave.

-z-

Sousuke checked his protective gear for the third time as he prepared to make another supply run around the mansion. They were getting low on food again.

He had initially planned on staying in the safe house no longer than a week. But that week stretched out again and again because that room was the only guaranteed safe part of the mansion. Other doors were too weak to withstand an onslaught of motivated infected wanting entry.

Kaname fiddled with the dials of the radio, finding their favorite station that shared the latest news on how to survive.

After the third day, they no longer got their information from the television. It wasn't because the information was bad, but Sousuke didn't want to risk Kaname seeing another bloodbath as the infected took out one station after another, live and in too much color. After Channel Three fell, Kaname cried for nearly an entire day. Combined with mourning her husband, the servants and guards, and everyone she'd ever known, plus the extra pregnancy hormones, watching the infected attack and kill innocent people on television was too much for Kaname to take.

Instead, they listened to the radio. The reporters checking in all compiled their information and every hour, on the hour, they repeated everything they had been able to completely verify in order to help any survivors stay alive.

Kaname found the station and turned up the volume. She didn't make eye contact with Sousuke. She didn't like it when he made these runs and they had fought over it on more than one occasion. She wanted stricter rationing to make the food they did have last longer. But Sousuke knew she needed sustenance to keep her healthy during her pregnancy, so he went at least twice a week despite her objections.

As the radio operators geared up to recite the information necessary to survive, Sousuke took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he had to do.

He was so familiar with "The List," he only half listened to the first one as he checked the monitor from the camera outside of the safe room:

_First: The infected are dead. One bite that breaks the skin will spread the sickness to the new host. The sickness will kill them and turn them into one of the walking dead. There are no exceptions._

When the door opened, Sousuke could quickly verify Fact One. The stench in the rest of the house was stomach-turning and had only gotten worse in the past four weeks since the evening it all began. He had done what he could to clear the bodies of those he had killed near the safe room, but the other wandering infected managed to stir up the stink anew whenever they made it up the stairs.

Sousuke peeked out into his room, looking for any sign of movement, as he made his way, as always, to his weapons cache. He continued mentally continued "The List" on his own.

_Second: Only humans can spread the disease. Though the infected often attack animals in their path, those animals that are bitten and survive will not carry the infection on their own._

Sousuke was glad for this. Kaname had once told him that her family had bred prize hounds, but because her mother had been severely allergic, Lord Chidori stopped the practice.

Kaname had no pet to fall victim to the hunger of the infected and Sousuke was grateful for this small mercy because he was certain he wouldn't have been able to save any animal in the house that first evening where he had barely escaped with his own life.

Sousuke did an inventory on his weapons and available ammo. Everything was in working order and he had plenty of ammo left. He opted for an extended police baton and his M16 rifle for this small mission.

_Third: Only trauma that damages the brain will kill an infected. They do not breathe. Their hearts do not beat. It is the brain that is infected, that allows the dead to move. Damage the skull, damage the brain, and the infected will die._

Sousuke was glad that this was something he had figured out relatively quickly. It was always a violent death for the infected and it was hard for Sousuke to have to kill those he had worked alongside for the past three years. But he had to stay alive. He had to continue to protect Kaname.

_Fourth: Symptoms of someone who has been bitten are easy to track. First, the wound exhibits a unique striation pattern alternating red and green tendrils emanating from the wound. Then, the victim develops a severe cough and bloodshot eyes. The time between sickness and death varies by individuals, though none has lasted longer than 30 minutes. After death, reanimation tends to occur between one and fifteen minutes. If no brain trauma occurs, a person dying from the infection_ _**will** _ _reanimate as one of the walking dead._

From the news reports, it seemed to Sousuke as though the fast incubation period before death, along with how quickly people reanimated after death both contributed to how quickly the infection spread. No one knew what was happening until it was right in front of them. Even then, they didn't believe what they were seeing, that people were dying from non-fatal bite wounds, then coming back to life to attack others.

As had happened in the Chidori compound, Western City, and all across the country, people didn't understand how deadly serious the situation was until it was too late. While the news reports were still sketchy with exact numbers, it had been estimated that only between 5% and 10% of the population remained uninfected.

_Fifth: Any body part still connected to the brain will continue to work. An infected without legs will crawl. An infected who has been beheaded is still a danger because can still bite anyone in range._

Sousuke could attest to that. After the first day he had left the safe room, only two days after Kiku had interrupted dinner, Sousuke had made his way to Kaname's room to get her some fresh clothes and her prenatal vitamins. She had tried to argue against his going, but Lord Chidori had insisted and Sousuke wanted to do everything he could to preserve Kaname's pregnancy. They were lucky so far that her first trimester had been easy, with minimal morning sickness, but Sousuke wanted to take as few chances as possible with her health.

He had shot an infected on the staircase with his shotgun, taking it out at the knees. It had been a bad idea. He had only turned a shambler into a crawler, which was far less likely to be in his immediate line of vision. In later days, as Sousuke branched out from the safe room, he'd learned to despise crawlers because they grabbed at your ankles from around corners and from under tables. More than one, probably crippled previously by the mansion's guards, had gotten almost close enough to bite him.

Six _th: Infected cannot speak or run. They have a distinctive moan, but they cannot speak in words. Anyone who can speak is not an aggressive infected. Infected will not gain speed faster than a walk._

Sousuke sent out a silent "thank you" for the fact that the infected were often ill-equipped hunters. They weren't fast, thought they were preternaturally strong. They also tended to announce themselves with their moaning.

Sousuke watched a group of infected from the top of the stairs. They weren't very good at climbing stairs, so he had time to observe. It seemed as though their moaning signaled other infected to their location.

_Seventh: Experience shows that infected tend to group together._

Groups of infected were far, far more dangerous than encountering any of them on their own and Sousuke always made an effort to steer clear of groups larger than five. While they weren't quick, they were persistent and in the time it took to take out four, the fifth one could be on you.

There were seven at the bottom of the stairs and Sousuke wanted to try to make it to the kitchen to find more food. Though he hated using firearms against the infected, he shouldered his M16 and sent a bullet through the head of each creature gathered below him. He did his best not to recognize the faces of those he killed.

_Eighth: Infected respond most to sound. They cannot see well and most reports state they are blind. Loud noises, especially high-pitched noises, attracted the infected. Therefore, silence is a major key to survival._

The gunshots would mean that more infected would come. Sousuke knew he would have to be fast to make it back up to the safe room before another large group of infected gathered and attempted to climb the stairs.

He stealthily crept through the halls and gripped his baton while making sure his canvas bag was shouldered and out of his way. Any confrontation from here on would be as quiet as he could make it.

Sousuke checked the main hall to the kitchen. Three infected, spread far apart. Sousuke inched past the first one and it didn't take any notice of him. The second one seemed to hear a footfall, so it started in Sousuke's direction before he poked his baton straight into the creature's chest, forcing it to stumble backward. Finally, he held his breath as he passed the third infected.

His keen glance into the kitchen didn't pick up any movement, so he entered and made his way to the larder.

_Ninth: Infected can only walk in straight lines. They only change course when they hear something that draws their attention and makes them turn._

As far Sousuke could tell, the infected were always on the move. Though blind, they would bump into a wall, or bump into one another and merely redirect their course. Like the moaning, this made them much easier to keep up with.

In the past four weeks, Sousuke had managed to barricade all entrances into the house. Therefore, the number of infected dwindled every time he killed one of them and the process got easier every day.

Sousuke wished fervently that he, Lord Chidori, and Kaname could just wait the whole thing out in the mansion, once he finally got it cleared, but that looked less and less likely as days passed.

Sousuke opened the cabinet and saw that food rations were depressingly low. Most of the perishable food was long rotted and they were quickly depleting the canned and cured foods that were still good to eat.

Sousuke slipped the last of the larder's contents into the canvas bag he carried and knew they would have to face the inevitable.

The three of them were going to have to leave the mansion soon. With that thought, Sousuke reminded himself of the final fact on "The List."

_Tenth: There is no known cure for anyone bitten by an infected. Everyone bitten will die. The only release from infection is permanent death._

TO BE CONTINUTED…

* * *

Author's Note: Please let me know how you like this story! Notes for this chapter can be found through my Dreamwidth or LiveJournal accounts.


	3. You Must Learn to Stand Up For Yourself 'Cause I Can't Always Be Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaname, her father, and Sousuke leave the safe room and confront the changes in their lives and in the world.

  **The Sickness**

By Starzki

-x-

**3\. You Must Learn to Stand Up for Yourself 'Cause I Can't Always Be Around**

-z-

Sousuke had expected, with the remaining food available in the house, they would have to leave in about a week. Yet he had discovered that the previous month's confinement to just a few rooms of the house had taken a toll on both Kaname's and Lord Chidori's physical fitness.

Therefore, they had undergone some strict rationing and Sousuke had run a kind of boot camp to prepare for life outside of the mansion's walls. The three stretched and did push-ups and deep knee bends in order to build up their muscles. They also took turns with Sousuke's jump rope to build up the stamina they would need in the coming weeks or months ahead. Finally, they worked with weapons.

Cracking a skull is not easy work. Sousuke instructed them to aim for the thinnest part of the cranium, the temple, to do the most damage with the least effort. He pulled a punching back to the safe room for Kaname and Lord Chidori to practice.

Kaname favored using her old softball bat. She had played on a local team back before her mother died and her father had locked down the whole house. Sousuke was pleased to see that she still had some of her old swing left. In the years before she had gotten married, Sousuke used to train her in self-defense techniques and was always pleasantly surprised at how adept and strong she was.

Both Sousuke and Lord Chidori kept an eye on Kaname during workouts, though. Any time it seemed she was overexerting herself, they stopped and took a break. She never complained during the workout or when they made her stop. They all wanted the best outcome and her continued healthy pregnancy, now going into its third month, was of the utmost importance.

While Kaname had her softball bat and Sousuke intended to continue to use his baton as his "quiet" weapon against the infected, Lord Chidori had sent Sousuke to bring him the family's ceremonial katana. It had been passed down through the family for hundreds of years and it was well taken care of. It still had a razor sharp edge and had seen many battles in medieval times.

Sousuke tried to talk Lord Chidori away from this weapon of choice. The katana was a good sword, and was strong, but even the sharpest katana would dull quickly when used on hard bones like skulls. Furthermore, though Lord Chidori did show some proficiency with the sword, Sousuke didn't trust it would be the best weapon for him.

It didn't matter. Lord Chidori had made up his mind, so Sousuke did what he could to help the man train for the battles that were sure to come.

Along with gathering "quiet" weapons for them, Sousuke also prepared his arsenal for them to carry. He wanted as many options as he could possibly have to defeat any incoming infected. Furthermore, he knew that firearms would be coveted by every living person they might come across, so they could be traded for food, water, or other necessities.

Sousuke had decided that he would be taking two Glock 29s and his M16 assault rifle as his main weapons, loading up with as much ammo as he could carry for them.

Lord Chidori opted for Sousuke's Smith and Wesson .38 Special revolver and he would also be carrying a Remington 700 hunting rifle with a scope in case Sousuke needed to shoot long-range.

Kaname didn't like guns and never had. Sousuke had taken her to the range a couple of times when they were 17 years old, but she had hated how loud they were and the violent kick in her hands whenever she tried to fire. She didn't want to carry a handgun and Sousuke didn't think that she should carry one of the heavier rifles in case they had to run. He couldn't risk her straining herself.

In actuality, they were flying a little blind when it came to Kaname's pregnancy. After the first visit when she had gotten the vitamins, there obviously hadn't been any way to get her to the doctor again so that she could ask any questions that came up. Phone lines went dead mere days after the initial outbreak of the infected and no one on the radio frequencies knew of any surviving doctors.

Lord Chidori only remembered a few details about Kaname's mother's pregnancy and wasn't much further help. In order not to jinx herself, Kaname hadn't done any reading or research on pregnancy, either, but she knew she had to keep up with her nutrition and religiously took the prescription vitamins her doctor had given her. Luckily, she had enough to last her through the rest of her pregnancy. Sousuke hoped that, after they left the mansion, they would run into a doctor or at least come across a bookstore that might have information they needed.

Finally, the day came in late March that all were agreed that they would leave the safe room, the mansion, and strike out on their own the next day.

That night, after Kaname had gone to sleep early (fatigue was her main pregnancy complaint), Sousuke sat down and double- and triple-checked the firearms and the provisions he had packed for everyone. They all had some changes of clothes, energy bars from his own personal stash, water bottles, extra ammo clips, a first aid kit, and a small, battery operated radio. Kaname had her vitamins. Everything had to be lightweight because the sunny, warm weather had persisted through the weeks. It was a shame, really, because colder weather would probably slow down the infected.

Sousuke heard some rustling from the control room. He followed the noises and found Lord Chidori watching the monitors for what was going on in his house. The rest of the city had lost power, but the mansion's generator was Shou technology and could probably run for many months to come.

Lord Chidori noticed Sousuke in the doorway and motioned him in. He had found the whiskey and poured a glass for Sousuke as he sat.

"They just keep coming," he said, gesturing toward the screen at an infected bumping into a wall in the main hallway."

"Yes sir. I've blockaded most of the entrances, but they're strong and persistent. They find a way in." Sousuke suspected the sound of the generator attracted them like moths to the flame.

The two sat in silence for long minutes as Lord Chidori drained one glass, then refilled it, frowning at its contents. His gaze returned to the monitors and he shook his head slowly.

"It's all gone, isn't it?"

Pulled from his own thoughts, Sousuke didn't understand the question. "Sir?"

The older man turned to Sousuke slowly with a wry smile. "That's just it. 'Sir.' Who am I now? My name doesn't matter. There isn't going to be any more 'Yes sir," or "No sir," for me."

Sousuke felt his eyebrows drawing together in confusion and Lord Chidori laughed at Sousuke's expression.

"You're a good boy, Sousuke. A good young man. Kalinin was right to recommend you. Hiring you might have been the best decision I've ever made in my whole life."

"Thank you, sir."

"There you go again!" said Lord Chidori, laughing harder. "You don't get it. I'm not your superior any more. I'm not your employer. I'm not paying you anymore." His voice got louder, more angry and frustrated. "Money means nothing! Social standing means nothing! Right now it's about survival, which means food, water, and shelter. Outside of this house, I can't provide any more of those things! Not to you, not to my daughter, not to anyone!"

Sousuke sat back in his chair, Chidori's words starting to sink in. Though Sousuke knew the world had changed forever, a part of him had still expected everything to be resolved somehow and that they would all go back to normal sometime in the future. But Chidori was right. With all of the dying, with all of the death, nothing could go back to normal. Society's whole infrastructure was forever changed. The people who used to matter in the old world suddenly didn't matter at all.

Chidori pushed the glass of whiskey toward Sousuke with a sympathetic look. "We're equals now, Sousuke. Whether I like it or not. My life is in your hands. So is my daughter's. We'll do what we can to stay alive, but we're going to really need your help."

Sousuke slowly nodded. Chidori was asking Sousuke to help him, not for money, but out of the goodness of his heart. He had every opportunity to say no and strike out on his own. His chances would be much better without an older man and a young pregnant woman to look after. But they were as close to family as anything he had ever had. "I will do everything I can to keep us all alive," he finally said. He pushed the whiskey away.

He continued, "And you need to stop drinking, Chidori. Tomorrow's going to be hard enough."

"That's the spirit, boy!" Kaname's father laughed again as Sousuke rose to retreat to his bed. He wanted to start out at first light.

Sousuke paused when Chidori cleared his throat. "She loves you, you know." His words were quiet.

Sousuke froze. His heart thundered in his ears, making him sure that he had heard him wrong.

Chidori continued, "You didn't know?" He chuffed a laugh.

Sousuke let out a breath and turned to the older man, eyes wide and uncomprehending.

"You _are_ a good boy. Not too bright, though." Sousuke couldn't find the words to answer.

"Oh, I know you love her. That's not hard to understand, she's so… exceptional. But she loves you, too. That's why I had to send her away and have her married. I couldn't risk that she would throw her life away, her life here, on a boy who had nothing to give her. It wasn't that I didn't like you. I did. But we have a duty in this family." Chidori laughed mirthlessly. "Had," he corrected himself. "She promised to go and I promised not to fire you."

Sousuke leaned against the doorway, his thoughts processing too fast for him to catch a hold of one.

"She was right to want to keep you. Well, there's nothing stopping you two now." Chidori turned back to the monitors. The infected in the hallway had been joined by two more.

"It… can't happen. I'm not… enough," Sousuke struggled out.

Chidori sighed. "No, Sousuke. It _couldn't_ happen. It can now. I… don't approve. But I don't think she'll ever do better than you in that world out there," he motioned to the door to the safe room. "And I want you to stay with her no matter what. Understand?"

Sousuke couldn't do anything but nod his head. Then he shook it and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He couldn't concentrate. His only option for keeping them alive was to put it out of his head. It couldn't happen. That's all. It was impossible. He would keep them alive because that's all he _could_ do.

Sousuke left the room and went to his own bed, doing what he could to tamp down the swirling hope awakened by his recent conversation. The next day would be hard enough.

-z-

Sousuke punched the code into the window unit, releasing the locks so the steel window covering disengaged and lowered to the floor. Sousuke didn't want to risk going through the house. The infected seemed to be gathered at all of the major doors and windows, doing what they could to dismantle Sousuke's blockades.

Sousuke maneuvered himself out of the window and onto the fire escape and took his first look at the outside world in six weeks.

Handfuls of infected roamed the grounds around the house. Sousuke could smell their stench. Bodies also lay, decomposing, scattered here and there along the driveway and on what once had been well-manicured lawn. Finding a path through the infected without initiating a confrontation wouldn't be easy, but Sousuke was confident they could do it.

He ducked back in the window and confronted Kaname and Chidori's expectant looks. They were outfitted similarly. Both wore jeans and long sleeved shirts that weren't so tight or loose that they would impede movements. They had on durable shoes made for walking and carried backpacks full of their provisions. They were as ready as they were going to get.

"I was right. They're more gathered at the main entrances of the house. If we make it down the fire escape and _quietly_ follow the drive way out of the compound, I think we'll be okay. We'll make our way into the village. From there, we'll see about getting to the water treatment facility on the southeast corner of the city. Sound good?"

They both nodded at him. They had heard on the radio that when the outbreak occurred, Western City's water treatment plant had gone on immediate lockdown. Only workers and their families were initially let in, but there were rumors that they were beginning to take in other survivors as well. They had managed to keep the treatment facility operational, so the city still had working, drinkable water in its pipes.

The radio had also reported on other settlements of survivors, but the treatment facility was closest to the Chidori compound and Sousuke thought the odds were safest if they were to make their way there. Kaname and her father were in agreement. The plant was roughly ten miles away and Sousuke hoped that they would be able to make it there in a matter of a few days.

"Are you ready? Do you have what you need?" Nods again. "Okay. Remember: being quiet is the key. We don't want to alert them and make them hoard. If things go pear-shaped, run, find something to climb up to buy yourself time. Aim for the head. Got it?"

"Yes," Chidori replied. Kaname gave Sousuke a worried look.

"You can do this, Kaname. I promise," Sousuke said.

Kaname shifted her backpack and reworked the grip on her softball bat before she finally said, "All right."

Sousuke led the way back out the window. He climbed down the first flight of stairs to the landing. Then he attached a nylon ladder to the bar on the landing with its metal hooks and lowered the other end until it pooled on the ground. The infected were bad with stairs and Sousuke guessed that ladders would completely flummox them.

After checking around to make sure they were still unnoticed, Sousuke shouldered his assault rifle and descended down the ladder.

Kaname followed, then her father. They both looked around warily; Kaname clutched her bat, ready to strike, and Chidori gripped his sheathed sword so tightly his knuckles were white. Sousuke flicked the ladder so that the hooks came free of the rod and he caught it before it could thud to the ground. He rolled up the ladder and put it in his pack. Then he nodded at the other two and they began to make their way to the driveway.

Kaname was naturally light on her feet and Sousuke had trained himself to tread silently, but Chidori had a much harder time controlling his footfalls. He was not a man who had ever felt the need to be silent or to disguise his presence in any situation. Sousuke brought his fingers to his lips, and pointed at Chidori's feet. The older man took the hint and corrected himself as well as he could.

The process of avoiding the notice of the infected and being as quiet as possible made the progress across the compound slow. Once they reached the end of the drive, they came to a collection of smaller houses and cottages in which many of the long time household staff and some extended family lived. The houses were more clustered together, which interrupted Sousuke's sightlines, making the way more dangerous.

Just after noon, the trio turned a corner around a cottage and came face-to-face with a pack of ten or so infected, just feet away from them. Kaname gasped and froze. Sousuke moved in front of her, motioning for absolute silence. They waited for what felt like hours, but was really only a couple of heartbeats, and gripped their weapons carefully, but the infected didn't seem to notice them.

Sousuke motioned for them to back away quietly. They were soon several steps away with the wall between them and the group of infected. Sousuke sighed, then continued on. He put more distance between his group and the cottage as he turned the corner once again. They still felt too close. Sousuke motioned for all of them to tread on the lawn to help muffle their footsteps as they edged by the group of infected. He wasn't sure how, but infected seemed to be able to tell the difference between the footsteps of fellow walking dead and the footsteps of their living prey. Maybe it was the lack of shuffling combined with the sounds of breathing that tipped them off, but Sousuke didn't want to even take the slightest chance when it came to their safety.

Once clear of the pack, Kaname broke into a run, upset at how close they had gotten. Sousuke and Chidori followed her to a picnic bench in someone's back yard. There weren't infected around and the line of sight was good enough to see any coming in plenty of time. Kaname sat down and put her head between her knees and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Her father rubbed her back while Sousuke kept watch.

"Sorry," Kaname whispered, a tear running down her face. "I just didn't realize how awful they were. The smell…"

"Shhh," comforted her father.

"It's okay," whispered Sousuke. "I should have warned you. I'll try harder to avoid them in the future." He offered her some water which she took with an embarrassed smile.

"I'll get stronger, I promise," she whispered back.

In twenty minutes, Kaname signaled that she was okay to continue. They moved on through the neighborhood with even more care. They also took frequent breaks, often to wait for a group of infected to move away from the path they intended to follow.

Though it was only three miles from the main house to the west gates of the compound, those most seldom-used, the trek took them almost all day. It was early evening by the time they left the compound and entered the village.

Sousuke frowned at the scene. Any thought he had of hot wiring a car to take them to the city was lost. There were plenty of cars around, but they were all piled together in every road and side street he could see. The outbreak had caused mass panic in the village and people had taken to their cars, crashed, then become overwhelmed by infected.

What was unusual, though, was that there weren't any sign of any infected as far as Sousuke could tell. They were probably roaming the streets just as they had roamed the Chidori compound, but there were none in sight down the main road or the three streets and sidewalks that he could see.

Chidori gave a sigh. "It's empty," he finally said, voice low, but still above a whisper.

"It's creepy," added Kaname. "But I'll take it over infected, that's for sure."

"How about we take a break and have some dinner?" asked Sousuke. This suggestion was met with eager agreement.

They found a nearby diner with outdoor seating set up, probably due to the warm weather on the day of the outbreak. Kaname set out the water and they all brought out an energy bar and Sousuke produced two cans of tuna.

"These don't exactly go together," he said as he pulled the tab on one of the tuna cans, peeling it back, "but it'll do for now."

Kaname looked skeptically at the meal. "I miss fresh food," she finally said. "Everything I've eaten in the past two weeks has come out of a can or a wrapper."

Chidori frowned at his daughter, sending her a disapproving look, and she dropped her eyes to the table. Sousuke recognized this look. She used it every time she expected a lecture from her father and Sousuke guessed she was about to get one about not complaining about difficult situations that you can't change. But, Chidori gave a long sigh and only said, "I miss eggs."

He sounded so sad with that admission that Sousuke laughed out loud. Kaname looked back up at her father with a grin. She appreciated that he seemed as miserable as she was. She continued, "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss salads."

"I miss pot roast," he answered.

"I miss stew," she sighed.

"I miss grilled chicken," he responded.

She laughed. "Me too."

They both then turned to look at Sousuke who was thoughtfully munching on his energy bar. He realized that they were waiting for him to join in, so he said, "I've always been partial to fruit flavored CalorieMate bars. Unfortunately, they were discontinued, so I now make due with these maple flavored ones."

Kaname and her father blinked at Sousuke, then erupted into laughter, trying their best to muffle the sounds with their hands. Sousuke wasn't absolutely sure what they were laughing about, but he was happy that they'd found something humorous in this situation, so he grinned back at them.

"Oh, Sousuke, you're too much sometimes," Kaname chided, wiping away a tear. Chidori looked at his daughter, then gave Sousuke a pointed look that was chilling.

They finished their meals in relative good humor and cleaned up after themselves. Sousuke then asked that they be on the lookout for any signs of safe houses. The radio had said that survivors had set them up in various cities and towns as they were passing through. They were well barricaded and could offer small groups a safe place to spend the night. Common convention was that survivors that stayed could take from the provisions that were there as long as they left anything they could spare in return. The signs for the safe houses could be found spray painted with directions as you got close to them. They generally were a house shape, box with a pointed top, with a plus sign in the box and an arrow pointing the direction of the safe house. Sousuke hoped that they would find one before night fell.

The three then wended their way through the deserted streets, keeping an eye open to potential dangers. They were being so careful.

That's why it surprised Sousuke when the car alarm went off. Apparently, Chidori had brushed up against a car with a sensitive alarm system and it started beeping and honking, flashing its headlights and alerting anyone in the area, dead or alive, to exactly where they were.

The three looked at one another in wide-eyed surprise. After a beat, Sousuke knew he had to get a hold of the situation. "We need to get up. Follow me quickly!"

Already, Sousuke could see signs of movement coming from down the street. He ran at it, anyway, knowing that they would probably start closing in from all sides. He wanted to get away from the bleating car most of all. That's where the infected would gather and he wanted to be as far from that as he could get.

"Sousuke!" Kaname shouted as they neared an infected. Sousuke saw it and swung his police baton with all of his might, caving in its skull. A quick look behind him confirmed his fears. Infected were coming in off of all of the side streets. There were dozens of them and Sousuke suspected many more to come. He could hear their moans from a hundred yards down the street. The trio weaved in and out of the cars parked on the street because the sidewalks were congested with infected walkers.

"Keep your eyes peeled!" Sousuke said. "Look for fire escapes or scaffolding or something to get us up off of the street level!" Another glance back and he saw that Kaname was right on his heels with her father only a few paces behind her.

They ran and gave a wide berth to any alleyways or side streets coming on to the main street because the infected were streaming in from these avenues.

Suddenly, Sousuke tripped. A crawler had grabbed his ankle from underneath a car. It used Sousuke's weight to leverage itself out into the open, jaws snapping at Sousuke's kicking feet. Before it could launch itself at Sousuke, Kaname was there, bringing down her bat with a powerful swing that almost surprised Sousuke. The crawler's blood and brains splashed against the car and the powerful grip at his ankle released.

Chidori helped Sousuke to his feet. "Thanks," Sousuke said, a little shaken. "We need to keep running."

Another hundred yards down the street and Sousuke started to feel panicky. The infected were still pouring out onto the road both in front of and behind them. They'd be swarmed in a matter of minutes. But then Sousuke saw what he was looking for.

A high, chain linked fence separated the yard of a three story building from the street. While the infected could take down a fence in a few minutes, he thought it could buy them time to scramble up the fire escape.

"Follow me," he said and started to scale the fence. The yard was clear and also fenced from the alley behind the building. As far as Sousuke could tell, there was no available ladder to the first landing of the fire escape. Sousuke dropped to the ground and quickly freed his nylon ladder from his bag, attempting to hook it onto that landing roughly ten feet off the ground. He heard Kaname and Chidori thud to the earth behind him.

After a few tries, he managed to get both hooks latched on and he hurried Kaname up the ladder first. He held the nylon taut for her to keep it from swinging and making it more difficult for her to reach the landing. His back was to the door from the building that fed into the yard, so he didn't see it swing open and the infected pour out, but he felt the door slam into his back.

"Dammit," he growled. He should have thought to secure the door first. He turned around, kicking the door shut, but not before four infected had stumbled into the yard and surrounded Chidori. He unholstered his Glock and started shooting, hoping that he could take them out before they got to Kaname's father.

"Dad!" Kaname screamed, descending the ladder once again.

There was so much chaos, gunfire, and screaming, what happened next was a blur. Sousuke was concentrating on killing the infected closest to Chidori while the man wielded his katana wildly, screaming at Kaname to stay where she was. Chidori brought the sword down into the skull of another infected where it got stuck and was wrenched from Chidori's grasp as the creature fell backwards.

Sousuke targeted the third infected and sent a bullet through its head, but not before it managed to grab on to Chidori before it died, so it pulled him down as he fell. The last infected stooped over the fallen man before Sousuke could react.

He felt Kaname brush by him and he checked his gun, making sure it was never pointed at her as she ran at the last infected, swinging away.

She made solid contact and the last creature slumped over, its blood painting a starburst pattern on the building's wall.

Sousuke secured the door by bracing it with his baton. He could hear Kaname crying and knew the worst had happened.

Sousuke hurried to the fallen man who was cupping a bleeding knee. His face was pale and his eyes were already turning bloodshot.

"Oh God, what happened?" asked Kaname, her tears betraying that she already knew.

"Kaname, I'm sorry," her father said. "I'm afraid I'm not going to make it the rest of the way with you."

"No!"

"Listen: Stay with Sousuke. Find other survivors. Live. Take care of that little baby." He started coughing.

"I can't do this without you!"

"Of course you can, Kaname. You're so special. You're strong." A laugh turned into another cough. "You're stubborn. I was only holding you two back. You'll be fine, but you have to take care of yourself."

"Dad, I don't want to lose you!"

He coughed again. Sousuke felt overwhelming sadness and guilt. He should have been able to stop this from happening. And now he felt like the worst voyeur by being witness to these last moments of his old employer, the man who had been able to give him a life and job to be proud of.

"Sorry, Kaname. I'm sorry for so much. I want you to know that I've always been proud of you, even if we didn't always agree. I'm sorry…"

"Dad, stop! It's okay, really." She looked on with worry as he had another coughing fit. She grabbed his hand and sobbed. Once he was done coughing, he took her face in both of her hands. She looked into his eyes, her own eyes shining and desperate. They softened, though, when she was able to recognize the depth of emotion he was trying to convey. It was a heartbreaking moment that Sousuke knew would haunt him for the rest of his life.

"I love you, my beautiful girl. Now, if you'll excuse me…" Chidori looked up at Sousuke. "I won't become one of them." He slowly took off his backpack and hunting rifle and set them aside.

Sousuke felt his heart drop, but he completely understood. He stood from hi s crouched position and leveled his gun at Chidori.

"Take care of Kaname," he said.

"Yes sir."

Kaname leapt at Sousuke, pulling at his arm. "No! Not yet! I'm not ready!"

"Kaname, leave him alone. It has to be done," her father rasped, keeping eye contact with Sousuke.

"No! You can't! It can't be you! I'll never forgive you!" she hissed at Sousuke, breaking down once again.

Sousuke's finger curled around the trigger, Kaname's words slicing at him. He frowned and dropped his arm, working up the courage to defy Kaname and be the one who took away what she most loved in this world.

His arm rose, then faltered again.

Chidori smiled sadly and hung his head. Addressing Kaname, he said, "No, you probably wouldn't forgive him, would you?"

After another fit of coughing that reddened his mouth with blood, he looked back up and produced the revolver that Sousuke had given him.

"NO!" Kaname screamed, the echo of her voice abruptly interrupted by a gunshot.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As always, I adore feedback, so let me know what you think. Furthermore, I write notes on these chapters that can be found on my Dreamwidth account (see my profile for details). Thanks for reading!


	4. Dig Through the Ditches and Burn Through the Witches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath. Sousuke and Kaname meet other Survivors.

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

4\. Dig Through the Ditches and Burn Through the Witches

-z-

Sousuke turned away from the body as it slumped over. He was gone.

He turned to Kaname who couldn't seem to take her eyes off of her father's body. She was beyond pale, turning an ashen color. The muscles in her face were frozen in her final scream, eyes wide and panicked, trembling lips still pressed into an O. Sousuke could only guess at the chaos and grief Kaname was experiencing.

She turned to him. Her eyes beseeched him, asking why, accusing him of failing to protect her father, and pleading with him to make everything right again.

He knew he would never be able to fix it. He knew he'd feel guilty for the rest of his life. But he also knew that now was not the time for feelings. Kaname's scream and the gunshot were already attracting infected and they were slowly making their way to the fence.

Sousuke shook his head at Kaname. She seemed to be working herself up to a serious meltdown and they needed to move. She inhaled two hitching breaths, let them out. After her next inhale, it would be a wail, then sobs that would probably render her immobile.

So, with that inhale, Sousuke strode to her and pulled her roughly to him, embracing her tightly. The movement shocked her enough that she didn't cry out.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. "We can't. We have to run now." Kaname remained stiff in his arms.

Sousuke held her for just another second before letting her go and scooping up the hunting rifle and backpack Kaname's father had set aside. After a moment's consideration, Sousuke took the revolver from the dead man's hand and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Let's go," he said to Kaname as he loosed the ladder once again, balling it and stuffing it into his pack. She didn't make any movement. She stood rooted to the same spot.

"We can't just leave him," she said.

Three infected had reached the fence. Raw, blood-stained hands gripped with a furious power and began shaking the metal, bending it open.

"We have to go!" said Sousuke. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the back fence that seemed infected-free for the moment.

"We can't just leave him!" she screamed, but she was running with Sousuke. He could feel the anger rolling off of her in waves. Sousuke didn't mind. In fact, he would be happy if she was angry at him for many, many years to come if it meant that she would survive the evening.

Sousuke dropped Kaname's hand and wrenched open the back gate. The ally was thick with infected to the west, so they ran east. For the first time, Sousuke was glad for the beeping car alarm. Except for the infected who had heard the gun shot, it seemed that most were more drawn to the continuous sound down the street. Unfortunately, a good number were still following them.

With darkness falling, Sousuke's eyes began to strain for any sign of safety. He wanted another fire escape, but the village had mostly two-story buildings that didn't need them. Ahead of them, the alleyway appeared blocked by a building, so Sousuke grabbed Kaname's wrist and began to pull her down an access road back to the main street. Kaname yanked her wrist free from Sousuke's hand and continued running straight down the alley.

"Kaname!"

"Come on!" she responded.

Sousuke readjusted his course and caught up to Kaname in a few seconds. He looked behind them and was dismayed to see that the alley had even more infected in it and that they were going to be cut off from the access to the street soon. "It's a dead end!" he said.

"No it's not! Look!" She pointed at the wall of the building in front of them. There was a mark of a safe house with an arrow pointing down and to the right. Once they neared, they saw a set of stairs leading down to a doorway to the building's basement.

They cambered down the stairs and opened the unlocked door. Relief washed over Sousuke as they entered the safe room and found it empty. He closed the solid metal door behind them, cutting off the rising volume of moans from infected that echoed down the alley.

-z-

The dim light from the lantern did what it could to penetrate the dark gloom of the windowless basement room. The area was smallish, crowded with metal shelves lined against the walls. What the shelves didn't cover of the walls, writing from other survivors did. Most were notes of where to go, what was safe and what wasn't. A few lewd remarks and bragging about number of infected killed in different styles of pens and markers also graffitied the painted bricks. Three chairs and cheap wooden tables covered with the detritus of the leftovers of other survivors left only a small space on the floor for the sleeping bag. Sousuke wished he could pace.

They were lucky. This safe room had a working bathroom. Kaname had locked herself in it soon after they had found the matches to light the lantern and Sousuke could hear her sniffles through the door. She was obviously crying, but doing what she could to keep it under control.

He took inventory of the supplies left in the room by the others. There were bullets, bottles of water, a few energy drinks, unlabeled cans of food, bottles of pills, and some bandages. Sousuke only really wanted the energy drinks for now. He put them in his pack.

In their place, he decided to leave the Smith and Wesson revolver. Kaname would never use it and it would only remind him of his failure to save her father. Maybe another survivor would have better luck with the gun than they had. He also left about half of the .38 bullets he was carrying, figuring he might trade the rest for something else in the future.

He held his former boss's backpack, unsure of what to do with it. Kaname might want to go through it, herself, but he wasn't sure she would be up for that this evening. After the stress and horror of the day, he was exhausted. He couldn't imagine how tired Kaname must also be feeling. In the end, he just stuffed everything from Chidori's pack into his own to let Kaname go through it some other time when she would be ready.

As he rezipped his pack, he heard the door to the bathroom open. The pervading darkness of the room couldn't hide Kaname's swollen, red eyes. She had tied up her hair and washed her face. The shadows made the dark circles under her eyes seem even deeper. She looked as though she hadn't slept in days. Sousuke immediately moved out of her way, motioning for her to lie down on the sleeping bag.

"There's no toilet paper," she said dully. "I had some tissues. We might think of looking for that when we move on."

Sousuke nodded, internally kicking himself for not thinking of that earlier. The mansion had been so well stocked that he just hadn't considered the fact it was probably a scarce commodity out in the rest of the world.

They stood in silence for a few seconds before Sousuke asked, as gently as he could, "Are you going to be okay?"

Kaname didn't react. "No," she finally said, then tilted her head a little to the right. "Yes."

Sousuke nodded again. He understood grief. There were times where you felt like you would never be okay again, but you knew that you were alive and could move forward even though it hurt. He guessed Kaname was feeling the same.

"You need to rest," he said.

She answered with an unhappy look before moving toward the sleeping bag. She lay on her side, facing the wall. She scooted over even more, obviously leaving room for Sousuke.

"I don't…" started Sousuke. Sleeping so close to Kaname after failing her felt wrong.

She sighed. "Just… lie down. We both need rest. We didn't survive today just to get bitten tomorrow because we're too tired to do what we need to do."

Sousuke couldn't argue, so he turned off the lantern and joined her on the floor, breathing in the smell of sweat and tears that other survivors had left behind. He was surprised that he began drifting away almost immediately.

"He's gone," Kaname murmured, drifting off as well, but maintaining authority in her voice. "We need to live so that someone remembers him."

"Affirmative."

-z-

Sousuke awoke the next morning in the darkness of the safe room. He stretched and worked the stiffness out of his muscles. Kaname's soft, even breathing beside him let him know that she was still sleeping.

He took advantage of her slumber and cleaned himself up in the bathroom, bringing the lantern with him. His watch's readout let him know that it should just be about daybreak outside. The safe room had served its purpose. It was time to move on.

Sousuke went back to the bed roll and regarded Kaname for a moment. She had turned onto her back sometime in the night and her lips were parted, forehead pinched with sorrow, even in her sleep. Still, she was stunning.

Rather than shake her awake, Sousuke opted for a more gentle method. He ran the back of the knuckles of his fingers down the side of her face, taking the moment to catalogue the velvety smoothness of her skin. It was the first time he could think of that he had touched her face. A pang of guilt echoed in his chest and he realized he was taking advantage, so he didn't repeat the gesture.

Kaname's eyelids fluttered a moment, then opened. Her brown eyes shined with hopefulness for a fraction of a second, then fell with remembered grief.

"Sousuke…" she whispered.

"We should eat something."

"Mm."

Kaname stood and stretched. She then made her way to the bathroom.

Sousuke went to work opening one of the unlabeled food cans. He was in luck. The first can was peaches. Kaname loved peaches.

The bathroom door squeaked open behind him. "Sousuke, we need to talk," said Kaname with an even, flat voice.

Sousuke felt his stomach drop. His first instinct was that Kaname was going to leave him. She was going to say that as soon as they met other survivors that they would then split up and go their own ways. He'd failed her too much already.

Sousuke sank into a metal chair. He wouldn't stop her if that's what she needed to do. He definitely didn't blame her.

"Okay," he finally answered.

Kaname sat in a chair next to him and folded her hands on the table in front of them. She took a deep breath and started.

"I'm going to have more of a say in what we do."

Sousuke looked at her carefully. "Okay."

"Until now, it was really just you and my dad making the big decisions. I didn't know what else to do, what else I should do, so I just went along with it. But now my dad is… gone. I have to take charge, take responsibility for what happens next, okay?"

Sousuke nodded, then startled when Kaname covered one of his hands with hers.

"Sousuke, you're all I have left, so you have to promise me that you won't die." Her voice held a mixture of authority and desperation.

Sousuke's answer was automatic, "Affirmative."

"Good. Now, next, we'll have breakfast, find a way out of this building, then make our way to the water treatment place. That's the plan, right?"

"Yes."

Then, to Sousuke's surprise, Kaname gave him a small smile. It was then that Sousuke understood that from that moment on, they were going to be a team.

-z-

Sousuke's legs pumped the pedals of the bike in a steady rhythm. They were making good time.

After they had left the safe room out of the exit that took them through the abandoned building, they had stumbled onto a bit of luck. For one, the infected of the evening before seemed to have mostly dispersed. Sousuke guessed that they were all gathered around the area of the now-silent car alarm. The battery must have died some time during the night.

Also, just a few paces away on the sidewalk, they had discovered a bicycle. The blood spattering its white paint communicated a bad end for its previous rider, but it was still in good working order. It had a ledge behind the seat for bags or other items that also could be used as a second seat for a passenger.

They took advantage right away, navigating down the sidewalks and any clear areas of the street. Kaname kept her bat on her lap and was able to at least push away any infected who got too near to their bike. They had made their way through the village in less than two hours.

Rather than take the highway into the city, Sousuke knew of a lesser-used country road that had more hills and winding areas that fewer people would think to take to escape to the city. He guessed that this route would be less clogged with cars, traffic, and infected.

The road took them through by farms whose fields were untilled and becoming overgrown with weeds. It did have the advantage, however, of good sightlines to any infected in the area. Sousuke and Kaname avoided any confrontations with relative ease. In the hours since leaving the village, they had only seen three infected roaming the fields.

Sousuke breathed in the sweet air, gloriously free of the smell of decomposition. It was another beautiful warm spring day. If the world around them wasn't falling apart, it would have been really nice. It was the type of scenario that Sousuke never had let himself consider before. Going on a ride in the country with the girl he had loved for years would have seemed like an impossible dream. Instead of a dream, though, it seemed more like an impossible nightmare.

The country road from the village to the city was longer than the highway, about 12 miles. They stopped about once an hour to give Sousuke a rest and to let Kaname find a bush or tree so that she could relieve herself. She had let him know that there wasn't anything wrong with her; it was a common effect of pregnancy. Yet despite the frequent stops, Sousuke guessed that they would reach Western City by mid-afternoon, much earlier than he had previously guessed.

-z-

"Sousuke, I don't like this."

"I know."

The sky above the city was black. Smoke from various building fires stained the clouds and rained soot down on the streets.

Sousuke knew that these streets had never been particularly clean to begin with, but the landscape that spread out before them looked threatening and alien.

They were on the outskirts of the Basin, the low-lying ghetto at the far southeast end of the city. Sousuke knew it well. He had, in effect, grown up on these streets. They looked as unforgiving and dangerous as they ever did.

Once entering the Basin, the feeling of dread had forced Sousuke and Kaname off the bike. They stalked carefully down the street, edging around the outside of the Basin because high ground seemed more defensible. They were already seeing infected bumping off of buildings and doorways. Dead bodies littered the streets. People here had fought back against the infected, but the place appeared just as abandoned and dangerous as the village had. Sousuke readied the M16 rifle and pointed it carefully down the road. Kaname walked the bike after him, her head swiveling from side to side to keep track of the movements of the city's infected.

They had made it nearly a half mile through the city streets when the sound of echoing gunfire filled the air.

Gunfire meant other survivors. However, if they were shooting, they were probably under attack and Sousuke needed to find an area to observe without the risk of being caught by a stray bullet.

The gunfire was definitely coming from down in The Basin.

"You hear that, Kaname?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"It sounds like automatic fire, probably from an assault rifle."

"So?"

"It may be military."

"Oh. Is that good or bad?"

"I'm not sure, but I think we should check it out."

Kaname considered it for a moment before nodding her head.

Sousuke led Kaname to the street that would take people into the very heart of The Basin. From their vantage point at the top of the hill, they had a clear view of the entire street below. They could see a mass of hundreds of infected gathering around what appeared to be a gas station about 150 yards away.

Sousuke pushed Kaname behind a building, "Watch my back, please. I'm going to try to help him out and the gunfire might attract the infected to here."

"Got it."

Sousuke leaned the M16 next to a mailbox and unslung the hunting rifle from his shoulder. Long distance shooting wasn't his specialty, but he was proficient enough at this distance that he was confident he would be helpful to whoever was pinned down.

He propped the Remington 700 on the mailbox and looked through the scope. The gas station had a chain link fence fifteen feet high that surrounded its four pumps. Two figures within the fence were struggling to fend of the hoard that was intent on tearing through. Well, Sousuke amended, one figure, a blond man in military fatigues, was trying to fend them off with a Heckler and Koch G36 assault rifle, while the other was hunched over something he couldn't see.

The man with the rifle was doing a fairly good job of mowing down the infected in front of him, dissolving their heads with bullets, but he didn't seem to see the others behind him that were nearly breaching the fence. Sousuke took a deep breath, steadied his aim, and fired. He saw its head disappear with a splash of black blood, then turned his attention to the other creature that had taken its place. In a fraction of a second, that infected was dead, too.

The blond soldier looked around wildly before spotting Sousuke. He then looked over his shoulder at the dead infected and the gaping hole in the fence before waving at Sousuke in thanks.

Sousuke waved back.

The soldier reloaded his rifle before shooting into the crowd once again. The hoard surrounding the gas station seemed endless.

For the next five minutes, Sousuke did what he could to help. He kept his eye on the back of the station's fence where only handfuls of infected were attacking. He could take his time with his aim and not waste ammo. He occasionally heard Kaname's quick, light footsteps rush off, followed by a soft grunt and a cracking sound. She was protecting him like he was protecting the two strangers down the street. He only hoped that they could take care of the hoard before he attracted one of his own.

Suddenly, the stuttering from the assault rifle down the street was replaced with sharp cracks of a handgun. Through the scope, Sousuke could see the large weapon tossed aside, probably because it was out of ammo. The soldier was yelling at the other figure as he fired wildly into the crowd.

Sousuke wasn't sure what to do. There were at least 50 infected still surrounding the gas station and there was no way a handgun, even with Sousuke's assistance, was going to save them. There was the option of going down with the M16 to take the infected out from behind, but it seemed dangerous. The hoard would probably turn on him, turn on Kaname. That was out of the question.

But he couldn't leave them either. He did what he could to take out the infected that were closest to opening the fence, buying the two a little bit of time whenever the soldier paused to reload.

The situation seemed dire. The infected were working simultaneously on four different entry points and with every one that went down, two more took its place. It would only be a minute before they would be completely swarmed.

Sousuke was about to despair when he saw the other figure stand up. It was another soldier, only a woman with short, dark hair. She was holding some kind of pack and what looked like a long, metal rod. Even from 150 yards away, he could hear her whoop as a long flame shot out from the metal rod, dousing the infected near her with killing fire.

After a few adjustments, she got the flame thrower to reach twenty feet out. The smell of burning flesh wafted up the street.

"Oh my God," breathed Kaname. She brought her fingers to her lips, turning green.

"It's working," said Sousuke. The hoard was completely engulfed in flames. Infected would stagger, often bumping into fellow infected, spreading the fire, before falling to the street, twitching for a few seconds before going still.

The fire died down in a matter of minutes. The two soldiers unchained the gate of the fence and hopped carefully over the smoldering remains of the dead. They made their way up the street, both wearing toothy smiles.

Sousuke set aside his rifle, but still carried his Glock. He stood stiffly in front of them, Kaname at his back.

"Nice shooting back there! You saved our asses!" the woman exclaimed with a friendly punch to Sousuke's shoulder.

The other man joined in, "No kidding, Sis. I thought I was a goner with you taking your sweet ass time with that flame thrower. Nice job, man. Thanks!"

"You're welcome," Sousuke answered. He was at a bit of a loss at the lack of military formality between the two, especially since the woman seemed to definitely outrank the man.

The female soldier didn't seem to hear Sousuke. Instead she whirled on the young man beside her. "My 'sweet ass time?!' Well, I wouldn't have needed all that time to syphon gas and repair the thrower if a certain idiotic Sergeant hadn't alerted every Whisky Delta in the area to our location!"

The blond man looked chagrined at this response and scratched the back of his head.

"Who are you two?" Kaname asked.

"Oh, hey there pretty lady. I almost didn't see you," the soldier responded.

The woman elbowed him on the top of his head, effectively dropping her colleague for the moment. "Sorry about that. The idiot on the ground in front of you is Sergeant Kurz Weber. I'm Sergeant Major Melissa Mao. And not to cut these introductions off too quickly, but there seems to be another hoard gathering down the street, so maybe we should find some place safe to hole up while they forget we were ever here. Sound good?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Discussion for this chapter can be found on my Dreamwidth and LiveJournal accounts. I also welcome any feedback you care to give. Thanks so much for reading!


	5. Didn't Know it Was a Devil Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confronted by the streets he grew up on, Sousuke shares his past with Kaname.

TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER: Mention of forced prostitution and child prostitution.

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

5\. Didn't Know It Was a Devil Town

-z-

"We should get to a safe house," Kurz said after their brief introduction as the foursome weaved between the cars in the street as quietly as they could. Melissa and Kurz led Sousuke, who walked the bike, while Kaname brought up the rear, bat at the ready and eyes alert for any movement on the streets or sidewalk.

"There's one down in the Basin I know of," supplied Melissa. She readjusted the flame thrower on her back so that the straps sat more comfortably on her shoulders.

"Are you two with the military?" asked Kaname.

Kurz and Melissa exchanged a glance. "Kind of. Yes," Kurz answered. "We were sent out to check the integrity of the city's power grid. We were on our way back when we got attacked by those Whiskey Deltas you saw."

"Whiskey Deltas?" asked Sousuke.

"Weak dicks," supplied Melissa, making Kurz laugh.

"Walking dead," he informed them. "But weak dicks definitely fit, too. Sorry miss."

"It's… okay," Kaname said, but Sousuke could see her slight blush.

"So, are you two… together," asked Kurz, glancing back at them over his shoulder and waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Sousuke hesitated before asking, "What do you mean? Why do you care?"

Melissa answered for Kurz. "It was a test. You really should say 'Yes' when people ask you that out here."

"Why?" asked Sousuke.

Kurz expression slipped from impish to serious. "People are taking advantage of the chaos, especially here in the city. Let's just say that women and girls who are out here alone or don't have someone to fight for them… get taken advantage of."

Sousuke scowled at the thought. It wasn't surprising. He knew how awful people could be, especially when they thought they could get away with it. He felt Kaname's hand grip his sleeve near his elbow.

"I'm with Sousuke," she said firmly.

Sousuke felt something wrench inside of his chest at Kaname's words. They were words he had wanted to hear for so long, but the duress under which she said them physically hurt.

"Good girl," said Melissa. "But I bet you could probably take care of yourself. I saw you with those Delts back there. You've got a mean swing," she said with a smile.

Kaname didn't smile back, but she nodded. Her face was drawn and angry. Sousuke caught her eye but she looked away.

They crossed the street to avoid an infected and Melissa led them around a corner. Sousuke felt he had gone through a time warp. The street was the edge of his old stomping grounds when he had been a kid. Not much had changed. It had always been run down and dingy. Light never seemed to find its way into the alleys or beyond any building's threshold. The odor was the same rotted smell of his childhood. He had never wanted to come back.

Kaname shuddered. She still gripped Sousuke's shirt.

The four slinked down the street carefully. Sousuke found himself marking off the various building and "businesses" he knew. On the corner was the only place in the neighborhood you could buy vegetables or milk, but it also served as a front for the local bookie. Then came a liquor store, a bondsman office, a souvenir store that was actually a front for drug dealers, a pawn shop, a hotel/brothel run and staffed by immigrants, and so on. Nothing was really what it seemed to be and everything had a dark, violent undercurrent seething through it. It had been years, but Sousuke doubted anything had changed.

They turned another corner and confronted three infected. Kurz and Kaname were ready. Kurz used the butt of his weapon to smash in two of their heads while Kaname used her bat on the third one. Sousuke felt proud of her reflexes and how frighteningly lethal she was. Then he felt strange about feeling proud about that.

"Nice job, guys," said Melissa. "We're almost there. We can bed down for the night and go on our ways."

"We can't come with you?" asked Sousuke, managing to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"Negative. Sorry. We're not authorized to pick up strays right now. We're having a hard enough time keeping all of us alive and unbitten as it is" she answered with a shrug, shaking her head.

"I see," said Sousuke.

"There it is," Melissa said, pointing to a five story, red brick building. "Safe house is in there."

"No," said Sousuke, freezing mid-step. He worked to fight against the panic thumping through his veins. Entering the red building was not going to happen.

"What?" asked Kurz.

"We're not going in there." Sousuke was firm.

"Why the hell not? There's a safe house?"

"There's nothing at all safe about that building," Sousuke said finally.

"What is going on?" asked Melissa.

Sousuke looked around anxiously. He hated this place. "I grew up around here," he finally said.

"Here?" asked Kaname, disbelief staining her voice.

"Affirmative. Stepping inside of that building is out of the question." Sousuke realized that it might not be a rational response. It was likely that there truly was a safe room in that building, but he had spent his childhood avoiding the old red hotel and he would never consider entering it. No matter what, even if it was infected-free and barricaded so that no undead could ever enter, they'd still be exposed to the echoing pain and ghosts that would never leave those walls.

Kurz and Melissa looked cautiously at Sousuke. They wanted to trust him, but they also wanted to get off the street as the sun fell lower on the horizon. Kaname's eyes expressed pure worry, then she said, "I'm with Sousuke."

"Well, then do you know where else we can go?" asked Melissa.

Sousuke nodded and propped the bike against a tree. They would come back to find it later if they could. It was his turn to lead the way.

-z-

The sky had moved from deep red into bruised purple by the time Sousuke had led the group to the beige cinderblock building three blocks away. It had been abandoned, even when he was a child, so Sousuke thought the chances were good that it was a place they could hide out for the night.

He brought them around to the side of the building and found the loose block of foundation toward the back, near the alley. It measured two feet, by two feet, by two feet and was very heavy, but Kurz and Sousuke made quick work of moving it, exposing the hole that led inside the building.

"What is this place?" asked Kaname as Kurz dropped to his belly to wiggle through the hole.

"An old church. The windows are high off the ground, so it would be hard for people or infected to get in. The doors are heavy and have been rusted shut for as long as I've known this place, but I found it when I needed a place to crash and never told anyone about the way to get in. It should be good."

Kaname nodded, then followed Melissa in after Kurz gave the all clear. Sousuke went in backwards and shimmied the concrete block closer to the opening, disguising the hole in the building from infected and other survivors. Sousuke didn't trust anyone in the Basin any more.

Once inside, Sousuke breathed in deeply. The cold, moldy, musty smell greeted him. It was a relief from the smell of rotting garbage and burned human flesh that had followed them since the gas station confrontation.

Melissa and Kurz carefully checked the entire space, including the small office in the front and the bathroom. It had been looted long before Sousuke had discovered it, the pews tossed and piled in disorder against the walls. Hymnals littered the floor, slowly fading and turning to dust. Nothing adorned the walls but the blue nighttime light that filtered through the small stained glass windows near the ceiling. The only sign of life was a cleared corner in the apse that Sousuke had used to bed down over ten years ago.

"This isn't a bad place to stay," Melissa finally said.

"It's pretty secure," Kurz agreed.

The four moved toward the apse and began unstrapping their packs and weapons. Moving in practiced motions, Kurz and Melissa immediately went into their packs for water and rations to share. Sousuke and Kaname joined in and the four had a silent, but enjoyable dinner. The only sound was the muffled rustling of wrappers and the occasional shoe scraping against the floor. Sousuke felt himself relax for the first time since entering the city. He realized how exhausted he was.

Sousuke moved over to the wall and sat, leaning heavily against it.

"So," started Melissa, arranging her equipment into something that approached comfortable to sleep on, "Why did you have such a problem with the other safe room? Not that I'm complaining about this place."

"Always avoid the red house," Sousuke said.

"The red house?" asked Melissa.

"Yeah. Back then, ten, fifteen years ago, all of the homeless kids in this city used to run these streets. The adults around here mostly used us as their little enforcers. They saw us as useful and expendable. They organized the gangs, used us to fight their competitors and we didn't really question anything because we finally belonged to something. To someone. It was like a family, or what I thought one would be like. We all basically had to take care of each other, especially the younger ones."

Even in the darkness, Sousuke could see the sympathetic and understanding expressions from Kurz and Melissa. They were probably familiar with the area, or had at least heard stories like his before. Kaname's face, on the other hand, showed a mixture of horror and concern. She held her fingers to her lips, covering her frown.

"It's a tough life," said Kurz.

"It wasn't bad. Not compared to the red house. I don't know how it happened, but kids were just abandoned on these streets. Maybe parents knew that this is where kids could survive without people asking questions. Maybe there was an underground adoption industry and we were the rejects. I don't know, but there were young kids who turned up on the streets almost every week. Some of us got taken in by the crime families. Some… didn't. Adults from the red house would come out and… take inventory of the new kids who weren't affiliated with a gang yet. The ones that were too young or too weak to get in right away. They would find the kids, take them by the hand, and lead them to the red house. They would never come out after that."

Melissa sucked in air through her teeth. Kurz let out an unhappy grunt. Kaname just looked confused. "What happened to those kids?" she asked, her hand going to her abdomen in an unconscious gesture of protection.

Sousuke sighed. He didn't want to have to tell her. "It was a hotel. Children were… one of the services it offered."

Kaname gasped, but didn't say anything. She dropped her hands to her lap and stared at them, schooling her face into a neutral expression.

"We all learned from the beginning to stay away from the red house. So…"

"Hmm. Good call," said Kurz.

"Yeah. This isn't exactly comfortable, but I'm glad we avoided that other place. Yuck," said Melissa, laying back and crossing her arms, getting comfortable on the hard ground."

Sousuke took the cue and slid down the wall, lying on his back, pillowing his pack underneath his head. Dredging up old, bad memories had taken its toll. He was asleep within seconds.

-z-

He wasn't sure how much later he was awoken by Kaname, but the moonlight hadn't shifted all that much on the walls. She had moved to lie next to him, sharing his pillow. She was on her side and hugged his arm to her, her mouth next to his ear.

He hadn't moved at all, but she must have known he was awake. "I'm so sorry," she breathed. "I didn't know."

Sousuke didn't answer.

"Also," she continued, "just so you know, because I can tell you're thinking it, I'm not with you because I'm scared of other people. I'm with you because you're who I want to be with."

She paused for a breath, then said, "You're… mine."

Sousuke would have thought he was dreaming except for the cold anticipation that was flooding through him. He suppressed a shiver. It still felt too wrong. She had always been unattainable to him, but the first flicker of hope that she could be his stirred in his soul.

There were so many things he wanted to say in return. There were so many things he wanted to do. He imagined turning toward her, embracing her, maneuvering them so that they could lay like spoons and feel the warm length of her body against his all night long.

But saying or doing anything might change things too much between them. He didn't want to risk what they already had. Their situation was too precarious, too mobile. If things went badly, the danger would be unacceptable. They had to find some place safe for them to live before he could let himself answer her the way he wanted to. But Kaname deserved something, some acknowledgement that she had put herself out there so bravely.

Sousuke shifted his arm in her grip, finding her hand and threading his fingers though hers. He brought her knuckles to his lips and pressed them there for a moment before dropping their arms between them once more, hands still clasped.

He fell asleep marveling at Kaname's breathing and the way it made goose bumps that chased each other down his neck.

-z-

Melissa and Kurz were up first, setting out food to share another meal.

Sousuke sat up, surprised to find that Kaname was still curled up next to him. He lightly touched her face and she roused with a light snore.

"The bathroom still has toilet paper!" Melissa announced.

"Good," said Kaname, making her way across the large room toward the aforementioned bathroom. Sousuke watched her pick up her pack, no doubt for any change in clothes she might need, as well as her vitamins that she took every morning.

He took his turn next and returned to the apse to find the other three had already started breakfast.

"So," asked Kurz, "where you headed?"

"The water treatment plant," said Kaname, wolfing down a packet of peanut butter crackers. "We heard they're letting people in now."

Melissa and Kurz began immediately shaking their heads. "You heard wrong," Melissa finally said. "They're shooting outsiders on sight. They're not letting anyone but water personnel and their families in the facility."

"But that's not…" Kaname said, shocked.

"Trust us. You two saved us. We won't steer you wrong. The water treatment plant is not where you want to go."

Kaname looked at Sousuke with mild panic in her eyes.

"We hadn't really heard of other places that were accepting outsiders," said Sousuke.

"There are a few. The Basin has a settlement on the north lip, but it's… not a good place from what we've seen."

"I don't want to go there," said Kaname.

"There are a few small places around the city, but they tend to turn away people they don't know," continued Melissa. But, if you're willing to travel, there's a place on the upper west side of the city that might work for you two."

"Oh?" asked Sousuke. "What is it?"

"Jindai High School. It's a hike from here, but you might make it tonight before sunset. It's big and they're doing well about expanding. They take in some people, but not everyone. They might take you if you show them you'd benefit them."

Sousuke exchanged a look with Kaname, "What do you think?" he asked.

"I want to get far away from here," she said.

"Understood. Me too."

"Jindai sounds interesting."

"It is far away, but I know where they're talking about. It was one of the biggest schools in the city."

Kaname nodded thoughtfully. "Let's do it," she decided.

Sousuke turned back to Melissa and Kurz. "Thanks for the info. Are you two leaving now?"

"Yeah. Gotta get back to the…" Kurz stopped himself. "…place we're going."

"We're sorry you can't come with us. I think you'd be useful. Especially with that rifle of yours," said Melissa.

Sousuke frowned over at the rifle, not looking forward to carrying it across the city. "It's not really my weapon of choice."

"Oh?" asked Kurz. "I'll take it off your hands."

"What will you give me?" asked Sousuke.

Kurz gave Melissa a pleading look. A silent conversation passed between them that ended when Melissa gave and exasperated sigh and a nod. She was still smiling though.

"We talked about it. We can't bring you with us, but we'll trade you the rifle for this walkie talkie," Kurz said, proffering the device. "We won't be able to talk much. But let's say at 1100 hours each day, we'll exchange whatever information we can. If we can bring you in, I'll let you know."

"Every day?" asked Kaname.

"Well, no," said Kurz. "But if I have something to share, I'll do it at 1100 hours. I'll also do what I can to be listening at that time. Okay?"

"Deal," said Sousuke.

Melissa smiled again. "Good. The easy negotiation is over. Now to discuss the leftover toilet paper…"

-z-

Sousuke and Kaname made pretty good time through the city on the bicycle until they hit Midtown, about two miles northwest of the Basin. Cars were piled so densely that even the sidewalks were clogged with vehicles.

They had to abandon the bike and make their way by climbing over cars. They were getting attention from infected in the area, but the tightly packed cars helped slow the infected down and keep them away from the pair.

They passed from trunk to roof to hood to trunk and so on down the road on the city's main artery. Except for having to look out for nearing infected, the journey became monotonous.

After about 30 minutes, Kaname broke the relative silence. "How did you get out of there? Years ago. How did you find your way to our house?"

Sousuke grinned. "I tried to rob the wrong guy."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. There was this gun and ammo store just outside of the Basin. Some old guy ran it and we thought it would be easy pickings. We were really wrong."

Kaname giggled. "What happened?"

"Well, I got caught, basically. Turned out the guy was ex-military, from another country, and he caught me when I tried to escape."

"Did he call the police?"

"No. I'm not sure why, but he asked if I was interested in his weapons. I said yes. So he said that if I wanted, he would train me how to use them if I stopped by every afternoon, but that I would have learn discipline as well."

Kaname used her bat to push an infected away from the trunk of the car she was about to step onto. "Go on."

"I guess there's not much to say. He put me through his own kind of boot camp, he taught me to fight, he taught me tactics, he taught me how to fire the weapons and how to take care of them. After about a year or so, I was spending more time with him, training, than I was with my gang. But no one ever said anything about it. I guess they were scared of the old man. And they should have been. I don't know a person who could take him out."

"He sounds really interesting."

"I guess. After a few years, he let me move into a small room behind the shop and I helped him run it. A few years later, someone put the word out for a young bodyguard for an heiress of a rich family who was reportedly… difficult. He put me up for the job. I met with your dad and was hired contingent on being able to get along with you."

"Ha!" the bark of laughter was at odds with the chaotic cityscape, but Sousuke couldn't stop his smile. "I almost had them fire you that first day! But you were… interesting. So I let you stay." Her voice was filled with bratty authority and genuine mirth.

"You let me stay. And here we are."

"Here we are," she agreed.

"So," she asked after climbing over a few more cars, "What happened to the old guy who trained you?"

"Not sure."

"What was his name?"

"Andrei Kalinin."

-z-

About a mile away from the school, the heavy traffic in the roads began to thin. Sousuke and Kaname stayed to the middle of the street and well away from anything that might conceal a walking infected or a crawler. They had done well in crossing the city in only one day, but the sun was beginning to sink in the sky and Sousuke wanted to make sure that they would get to Jindai before it started getting dark.

He thought about what the settlement would be like. He supposed it was based on the technology they had and the supplies that they were able to gather. From the sound of it from Kurz and Melissa, it was probably pretty well-organized. He suspected that they would have to share almost everything they had.

A half a mile away from the school, just before they turned down the road that would lead them to its entrance, Sousuke saw what he was looking for. It was a kind of storage shed built in to the side of house. They were designed to merely look like a part of the building's structure, part of the wall. People could store tools and expensive equipment with much less fear of it being stolen because many thieves wouldn't know it was a shed.

They hadn't been very popular because they were very expensive to camouflage as part of the house and often out-priced the stuff most people would hold inside. But this house had one. Sousuke could tell by the hinges that were out of place on a house's façade.

He stopped Kaname, checked for infected, and hopped the fence to the house. He located the combination lock without much trouble and spun the default code from the factory settings. Not many people ended up changing it and he crossed his fingers that this person hadn't either.

He was in luck. The hinges squeaked open revealing a completely empty space. The homeowner had apparently emptied it when the dead had started coming back to life. Sousuke placed Kurz's radio and his Glock and its ammo inside.

"Do you have anything you don't want to share with the rest of the settlement once we get there?" Sousuke asked Kaname.

"Just the vitamins, I guess," said Kaname after thinking about it. "And my bat."

Sousuke considered her answer. "Keep the bat. You won't need it inside and they'll think it's weird if you show up at their door without a weapon of some kind. And you should keep your vitamins with you. Just don't volunteer that you have them. It should probably be okay."

"Do you think I should tell them I'm pregnant?"

Sousuke thought about this. "I'm not sure," he finally said. "It… might be a reason for them to turn us away."

"I'm going to start showing in a month or two."

"It'll be harder for them to turn you out once they get to know you."

"So you're saying I'm lovely and charming and there's no way they'll get rid of me once they've met me?" she asked with a grin.

Sousuke gave a soft laugh. "Affirmative," he agreed.

She laughed in return, pleased with his answer. "Okay. I'll keep the little nugget under wraps for now."

"I'm going to use the storage just for us in case anything happens and we can't stay there. Sound good?"

"Sounds great!"

Kaname unpacked her bag and rearranged the contents, wrapping her vitamins in a sweatshirt and placing it at the bottom. She kept the food and water near the top. They were ready to go.

-z-

"Who are you? What do you want?" a male voice asked from over their heads, atop the barricade that blocked the school's courtyard entrance.

"Sousuke Sagara. And this is…"

"Kaname Chidori." Sousuke started at her response. She hadn't used Chidori as her surname since she got married and the fact that she was shedding it surprised him somewhat.

"We'd like to come in," Sousuke shouted to the voice.

"What do you have there?"

"An M16."

"You have ammo for that?"

"Yes."

"Can you shoot?"

"Yes."

There was a silence and the gate began to rise. Sousuke saw a nice looking woman step out and consider him. She definitely didn't belong to the previous voice, but she did have some authority. She sized up Kaname and Sousuke with a frown. "We may or may not have room for you. But everyone here carries their own weight."

"Understood," said Sousuke.

The woman narrowed her eyes at him. "You can shoot. Can you run?"

"… Yes?"

"I'm talking long distances. Hours at a time."

"I can run," Sousuke affirmed.

She turned her gaze to Kaname. "What about you?"

"I'm with Sousuke."

"How nice for you. Can you run?"

Kaname hesitated. "I could. I really can't so much right now."

The woman frowned more deeply. "I don't think we can help you."

Sousuke felt his temper rising. He knew he shouldn't yell at someone who was just trying to survive, but so were they!

Kaname cut him off before he lost his cool. "But I can cook. I'm really good. And I know how to cook for big groups."

The woman considered Kaname's words. Then she nodded slowly. "I'm Eri Kagurazaka. Come in."

They had only taken three steps inside before they were approached by two other men, one older and one near their own age.

"Please give us your weapons, ammo, and any food that you have," the older man requested. "We need them for the good of the entire settlement."

Sousuke and Kaname didn't argue. Sousuke handed over the M16, all of his ammo, his baton, and what was left of his rations. Kaname handed her bat over with a scowl, but silently emptied her pack of the food and water she carried.

"Is this it?" Ms. Kagurazaka asked.

"Yes," Kaname answered.

"And you said you're a couple, yes?"

Sousuke noticed Kaname's blush, but she answered, "Yes."

"Good," said the younger man. "Couples share a cot. No exceptions. And we have an open bed, so you two are in luck."

At this information, Sousuke felt his own cheeks coloring. He hadn't anticipated this happening.

"It's late," said Ms. Kagurazaka. "Tonight, just join us at the fire and meet some people. Tomorrow, meet with Hiyashimizu to get your job assignments," she said, indicating the younger man.

"Yes ma'am," said Sousuke.

"Are you military?" Hiyashimizu asked Sousuke as he led them through the former school's large courtyard. The school was three stories tall had been built in the shape of a squared off "U" with classroom buildings surrounding the athletic grounds that included the track, baseball, and soccer fields.

"Negative. But I've had some training."

"Good. Meet me after dinner. I'll show you to your cot."

Kaname and Sousuke thanked him and walked over to the area where several campfires were burning. They surveyed the area. One of the fires only had two people next to it and they appeared to be the same age as Sousuke and Kaname.

"Do you mind if we sit?" Kaname asked.

The two, a young man and woman, looked up and nodded eagerly.

"Are you new?" asked the young man, pushing up his glasses on his nose.

"Yeah," said Kaname with an easy smile.

"We kind of are, too," said the girl, mirroring Kaname's smile. "I'm Kyouko. That's Shinji." He gave a small wave.

"Kaname," said Kaname, then gestured at Sousuke, "He's Sousuke. Where are you from?"

"We went to Western University. I was a first year nursing student, he was in computer engineering. We shared a math class and were studying in the cafeteria when everything happened. We and some others managed to bar the doors and stay there for weeks and weeks. Then the food ran out so me and Shinji found our way here."

"Wow," said Kaname, obviously impressed.

They all settled down around the fire and talking came easy to Kaname. Sousuke was glad for that. She was always good with people and she never got much of a chance to interact with them on the Chidori compound.

"Where are you two from?" asked Shinji.

"We're not from the city," said Sousuke.

"Yeah, we thought we could stay at the water treatment plant, but it turns out we were wrong. We were directed here." Kaname shrugged.

"Well that's good, then," said Kyouko brightly. "We only got here a couple of days ago and we don't really know anyone really well. I was kind of hoping that these evenings around these campfires, they burn the garbage every night, would be more like camp where we told scary stories. But people here stay kind of quiet."

"I don't know if we need any more scary stories with those things prowling around out there, trying to eat our brains," said Shinji with a shiver.

Kaname laughed. "Well, that's true! Maybe we should tell happy stories, instead."

"Or funny stories," said Shinji in agreement.

"Does anyone have a funny story?" asked Kaname. There was a long silence. "It's been so long, I don't know if I remember any…"

"Oh, I have one," said Kyouko. "It's a little… naughty though."

"Tell it Tokiwa!" said Shinji. "I could definitely use a laugh.

Sousuke thought that they all did. He found that he instantly liked both Shinji and Kyouko and it appeared that Kaname did, too. They were finally finding a bit of good luck in all of the recent horror.

"Okay," said Kyouko. "Don't say I didn't warn you, though."

"Ha! This should be good. Kyouko has the best stories," Shinji informed Sousuke.

"Okay, this happened last semester. Our dorms are set up as suites. We have two people per room and two rooms share a bathroom between them. My roommate was… difficult."

Shinji nodded knowingly at that. "Yeah, she would just stare at the fish in her aquarium for hours, rocking. She said it was her therapy."

Kaname giggled. Sousuke smiled at the sound.

"Well, our suitemates were big partiers. They thought my roommate was weird and they thought I was weird by association, so they never invited us over when they had their parties."

"Oh no," said Kaname with some sympathy.

"Oh, it's fine. They were awful anyway. I had better things to do. It just got annoying because they were pretty loud and it would go on well into the night. But we just locked our side of the bathroom door and wore earplugs."

Kyouko took a sip of water, then looked away from the fire into the darkening sky.

"Anyway, this particular Friday night, the suitemates were at it again. Loud music. Drunk people. The usual. We just ignored it like we always did. I fell asleep around midnight. I woke up at around 3AM and had to pee. I couldn't hear anything from next door and I figured the party was over and it was safe to go into our shared bathroom." Kyouko took a breath. "I was wrong."

This made Shinji laugh. Kaname wore an expression that made it clear she was anticipating being shocked. Her mouth was forming an "O" and her hand was pressed to her heart.

"So I went in the bathroom. I thought I was doing everyone a favor by not turning on the light!"

This made Kaname unleash a torrent of giggles.

"Well, I step into the bathroom and, the next thing I knew, I was slipping on something wet and I fell back and banged my head on the door. It hurt! So I got up and turned on the light…"

"Oh, no," breathed Kaname, her hand inching up to her mouth.

"And I saw this guy on the floor, passed out."

"Ugh! Did he barf?" asked Shinji, both grossed out and delighted with the story.

"I wish!" Kyouko's face was reddening, but she continued with the story. Even Sousuke found himself on the edge of his seat, needing to know what happened next.

"It appeared that he had passed out after he had… pleasured himself. And I stepped in… yugh" Kyouko couldn't finish the sentence.

Kaname squealed in disgust and then lost herself in giggles. Sousuke knew his own face was screwed into some awful horrified expression.

Kyouko was giggling, herself. "And it was still out!" she blurted.

"It?" asked Kaname, utterly scandalized.

"Was out!" said Kyouko, causing everyone to double over in laughter. Sousuke couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so hard. He even felt tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. They all laughed long and hard until they were reduced to mere whimpers.

Kyouko broke the small silence that followed. "And my foot itched the whole next day," she with a pathetic tone in her voice. Everyone lost themselves in laughter once again.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note 1: This chapter was written to fill the "shiver" prompt in LuxKen27's Summer Mini Challenge.

AN2: FYI, the story at the end happened to a friend of mine in college. There is a bit of a Seinfeld exchange, but let me assure you, it was a direct quote from when she told the story to our group of friends.


	6. Even if the Sky is Falling Down, I Know that We'll be Safe and Sound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke and Kaname spend their first day at the Jindai settlement.

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

6\. Even If the Sky is Falling Down I Know That We'll Be Safe and Sound

-z-

Hiyashimizu found Sousuke and Kaname as the torches were lit and the people of the settlement began shuffling away from the fires.

"I'm going to give you the tour of the place, but I'm going to make it quick since we try to keep things quiet after dark. We don't want to attract any of the infected in the area at times when it's harder for us to see them," Hiyashimizu explained, his white hair glowing in the soft fires of the encampment. Sousuke and Kaname nodded in understanding.

"Jindai High School was kind of ideally built for defense. It really helped that there was a lot of sturdy scaffolding up across the opening into the courtyard. We think it was for some kind of school festival or event. No one here is sure, since all of the students either turned infected or escaped. But the original settlers here were able to kill the infected students and reinforce the scaffolding so that the entire courtyard is nearly impossible for infected to infiltrate. Some manage to get into the school via broken windows and doors, but we patrol the halls every morning and evening, so they never make it into the main courtyard."

"How long have you been here?" asked Kaname.

"I live nearby and I was in the second wave of settlers here, about two weeks after the outbreak. There are about 200 of us and I'm in charge of newcomers and I speak at the Round Table for teenagers without parents through 25-year-olds. If you have any issues, you talk to me and I'll bring them up at the weekly meeting. You've also met Kagurazaka. She speaks for 26 through 40-year-olds. And then there's Mei. She speaks for anyone older. We've found it's best this way. It's democratic, people vote for their representatives and we help make the decisions for the settlement."

"Have you always been the representative?" asked Sousuke.

"Since we started the Round Table, yes. But if anyone else wants the responsibility and if the young people prefer that person, I'd be willing to step down. But no one has ever challenged me. Now here's the front gate, which you already know. You can see the torches up on the gate's scaffolding. That's for the shooters on gate duty. There are only two at night because we stay quiet. There are four during the day. Sousuke, you'll have gate duty twice a week since you've told us you can shoot. Those two days are your rest days. The other days, you'll be a runner."

Sousuke felt Kaname grip his sleeve at his elbow. "A runner?" she asked.

"Yes. We need supplies to keep Jindai functioning. We have to send out runners to collect supplies and eliminate any infected they find. We like to keep the area surrounding the settlement as clear as we can to keep everyone here safe. Almost half of the settlers here are runners or have been runners at some time. It's dangerous, but we haven't lost anyone in two weeks. I think the system works. So, tomorrow, Sousuke, you meet here at dawn and we'll issue you a weapon and assignment. You get the weapons from the armory here," Hiyashimizu motioned to a haphazardly built shed with three locks securing it just inside of the gate.

Sousuke nodded. The settlement was impressive and the way they handled the new world was making a lot of sense.

Hiyashimizu took them west along the south scaffolding wall to an impressive metal tower. "This is our communications center. It's powered by two of our gas generators. So far, we are able to send and receive radio signals and we're working on more complex means of communication with the outside world. We need to know what's going on out there, what is working, what isn't, and how people are fighting these infected."

"Does Shinji work here?" asked Kaname. "He said he was studying computers."

"Yes," he answered. "He's only been here a few days, but he's already introducing new solutions to our issues. I'm optimistic for how he can help us connect to the rest of the world."

Hiyashimizu then turned north along the east wall of the school. "On the right is our hospital. It's connected to the old nurse's office in the school. There were a few first aid supplies and we just built this tent area out from there. You come here if you have any injury. It's really easy for things to get infected out here and our doctor will wash you out and patch you up pretty well. She's always on the lookout for more and better meds, though."

"You have doctor?" asked Kaname, unable to hide the happiness in her voice.

"Yes. Dr. Yoshi came here about three weeks ago. We're incredibly lucky to have a doctor and she has done really well here. I think she was an emergency room doctor and I know she's seen a lot. She's glad to have a safe place to work from and we're glad to have her."

"That's incredible," agreed Sousuke. "I would have thought most doctors would have become infected themselves since they would have dealt with them before any of us knew what was going on."

"Dr. Yoshi is a survivor, that's for sure. She sees people all day long so stop by if you have any need for her."

Sousuke saw Kaname give a slight nod out of the corner of his eye. He knew her well enough to see the relief and joy wash across her features. Sousuke felt both himself. They now had someone that could see Kaname though her pregnancy.

"Now, on your left is the mess tent. Kaname, this is where you'll report tomorrow. They don't start as early as dawn, but they do get going for lunch pretty early. It's nearly centrally located and it feeds all of us twice a day when we have the supplies. Our other generator is here and we've moved a lot of the equipment out here because the cafeteria had too many low windows to stay safe. We really have to be careful about food that's been going bad. Food poisoning has been a problem before and if you can cook, as you say, you're going to have to be both careful and inventive. Eating the same thing prepared the same way every day has a real effect on morale here."

"I understand," said Kaname with confidence.

They turned left and walked along the far north wall. "This is what we call the Farm. It's mostly our food pantry and where we collect rainwater in case the water stops. Here, we cure any meat we're able to bring in fresh, we store our canned goods, and there's a vegetable patch. Or the start of one. The warm weather has been helping and a few of us are working to grow some vegetable seedlings and keep the frost from them. It's very promising right now."

Sousuke regarded the straw covered dirt that used to be a baseball diamond. His mouth watered at the thought of fresh vegetables. Though the unseasonably warm early spring weather had been a disadvantage when dealing with the infected, if it meant an early crop, Sousuke couldn't help but feel glad for it.

Finally, they made another left and walked along the west wall. "Here is the outdoor housing. It's connected to the school's locker rooms. The locker rooms are safe and the water is still running. Here's where you will use the bathroom and the showers. We have a schedule for most of this, so please ask around for where you two will fit in."

There were five large white canvas tents set up all along the wall. "Women are on the north end, men on the south, near the armory, and couples are in the middle." Hiyashimizu stopped at the entrance to one of the middle tents, signaling that this one was theirs. "As I said, couples share a cot. There's only one available." He paused and shuffled a little. "We ask that couples refrain from… affection."

Sousuke instantly felt the hot blush rise into his face.

Hiyashimizu continued, "There are some rooms available inside the school that are small, private, and safe. We rotate sharing those at night and you'll be eligible for one of them in about two weeks. But until then… show some discretion."

"Yes sir," said Sousuke as Kaname nodded. Her own cheeks were bright red.

"Good. Quiet hours are beginning now," he whispered. "Welcome to Jindai and have a nice night."

"Good night," they echoed in unison.

Hiyashimizu gave a small bow and left them, making his way toward the men's tents. Sousuke and Kaname let their eyes adjust to the darkness as they took in the rows of cots with sleeping forms on them.

Kaname found the empty cot and Sousuke's heart leapt into his throat. He had been hoping that the couples' cots were larger than the standard issue. They were not.

Kaname had gone about the business of settling in. He could see exhaustion in all of her movements. She had been stifling yawns through most of Hiyashimizu's tour. She settled her pack underneath the cot after taking out some of her clothing. She shoved most of the clothes into a t-shirt and plopped it at the head of the cot as a makeshift pillow.

Sousuke followed suit in stashing his pack under the cot. He took off his shoes and contemplated the bed situation. He felt almost feverish with the amount he was blushing. They'd slept in close proximity the last few nights, but this seemed… premeditated. They were safe. She didn't need him like she had. But this was going to be the status quo for the foreseeable future. It made Sousuke nervous.

Kaname was eyeing the cot carefully, too. She was blushing, but she seemed much less skittish than Sousuke felt. Finally, she said, "Maybe if you just lay on your back, I could lay on my side and we could fit…"

She was really trying to figure out the dynamics of sleeping in the cot while Sousuke was having a mild panic attack about the situation. He wasn't afraid of her, of course, he was afraid that sleeping so closely night after night would put him in danger of wearing down his defenses enough to tell her the truth about how he felt about her. What he wanted from her.

Instead of voicing any of his apprehensions, he just laid down on the cot like Kaname had asked. He scooted to one end as far as he could, but there were still mere inches left for Kaname. She did not seem daunted. She just sidled up to him, pillowed her head on his shoulder when he wrapped his arm around her and leaned most of her weight against him. In fact, she threw her top leg over his and snuggled into him, hugging him around his waist and making herself comfortable.

Sousuke felt some emotion he hadn't yet experienced in his life. It was somewhere between mortification and elation and he found he didn't hate it.

Kaname's breath felt humid against his collarbone. She had fallen asleep almost immediately. As he drifted off, Sousuke stared at the canvas roof above him, deliriously happy and comfortable with Kaname's weight on top of him. At Jindai, he felt safe in a way that he hadn't felt before the outbreak.

-z-

The shuffling around of the other settlers awoke Sousuke. His arm was asleep and he was temporarily confused as to why. Then, he shifted and felt Kaname stir a little on top of him. Ah, he thought, that's why. He didn't mind it at all.

Sousuke reached with his other arm and lightly traced around the outside of Kaname's face. Like before, the feathery touch woke her up gently, allowing her to rise out of her slumber without panic or alarm.

"Mmm. Sousuke," she murmured. Sousuke blushed at her mumbled sounds but was definitely pleased. Kaname opened her warm brown eyes and smiled when she saw her cot-mate. "I was having the nicest dream…"

"Oh?" asked Sousuke.

"Yeah. You and I were having dinner. It was so good. It was chicken curry and there was so much of it."

"That sounds wonderful, but it's time to get up."

"Mmm. Go get us some fresh chickens when you're out running today, okay?" she teased.

"Affirmative," he grinned.

They waited in line for the bathrooms among the other settlers who all seemed too sleepy to make much conversation. Only about half of the people were up and moving. Sousuke guessed that the different schedules had something to do with the different chores that people had around the settlement. He could see neither Kyouko nor Shinji in the bathroom lines.

After using the facilities, Sousuke walked Kaname to the mess tent. She was early, only the first reds and oranges stained the dark, early morning sky. Still, she didn't walk him to the front gates, instead, she just waved at him and said, "Be careful out there." She looked apprehensive.

"Not a problem," Sousuke responded. "I'll see you at lunch, I guess."

Kaname gave a small smile and Sousuke turned toward the gate.

There was a group of runners already amassing there. A man in his twenties with a clipboard stood in front of the now-opened weapons shed. He made eye-contact with Sousuke. "Are you the new runner?"

"Affirmative," Sousuke answered. "Sousuke Sagara, reporting for duty."

The man nodded. "I'm Jin. I organize the runners and issue weapons. We just had a runner reassigned to tending the vegetable patch full time, so your designation is Runner Seven. Do you have a weapon of choice?"

"There are the guns I brought in…"

"Negative. Runners get melee weapons: clubs, machetes, etc. Quiet weapons, especially so close to the settlement."

"I was using a police baton."

Jin looked into the shed and handed Sousuke a baton. It wasn't the one he came in with, but it would do.

"Okay, Seven. We have two types of runners. One are the Runner Gunners. Their main responsibility is clearing the area of infected. Take about two or three hours, but no longer. You can pick up necessities that you come across, but if there's an infected, you spill their brains first, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then there are the Runner Scavengers. You're issued a grocery list and a pack and you pick up everything you can on that list. Once you do, you can come home. If you can't find everything, then you come home after two hours. That way we know who might potentially be in trouble. We run again in the evenings. Any questions?"

"Negative."

"Good. It looks like everyone's here. Okay, Runners, listen up," Jin said, raising his voice. "Runners One through Ten are Running and Gunning this morning. The first two who return take hall duty in the school. Runners Eleven through Twenty-five are our Scavengers. Gunners, line up. Tower tells us that most of the infected from last night came from the northeast, so concentrate your efforts there to begin, then spread out through the area. Got it?"

Heads nodded all around. "Good," Jin continued. "Scavengers, you're out in 30 minutes. Raise the gates!"

The front gate started its slow process of opening, sending out a metallic squeal. The Gunners assigned with Sousuke shifted with anticipation. Once the gate was high enough, the runners ducked through and sprinted out into the street.

Sousuke followed. Though the Gunners didn't talk, there seemed to be a kind of routine they followed. They silently fanned out in the northeast direction. Two infected to the west were handled by a single runner before she joined in with the others. There were a dozen infected clumped a block away, not including a few stragglers who were not with the group. The gunners brutally cut or beat down any infected in their paths. Sousuke found himself toward the outside of the street, carefully watching to see where he would most be needed.

Once the line of Gunners reached the mass of infected, each runner worked to surround the horde. Once everyone was in position, they all started making small noises. It made sense. The infected were each most drawn to the runner nearest to them. Instead of having to deal with the entire group of infected coming at them all at once, each runner only had to deal with one or two infected.

Sousuke struck down the infected nearest him and hit it again to make sure that the skull was truly broken. By the time he looked back up, all of the infected were taken care of.

The runners then moved a little more to the northeast, but found no more large groups of infected. A fellow runner, Sousuke thought she was referred to as Runner Five, told him that it was time to split up and to take out any infected he could find. The usual radius was two to three miles out from Jindai depending on the infected concentrations and the routes that individual runners took. Five told him that the previous Runner Seven usually liked to take one of the southeast corridors.

That was fine with Sousuke and it put him within range of the storage shed he had secured the previous day. He didn't plan on visiting it yet. It was too soon. But he would find a way to it before the end of the week.

So Sousuke ran. He ducked in and out of alleys and jogged down the nearly barren sidewalks in the cool morning sunshine. It was quiet. It was almost nice. If the city hadn't looked so dilapidated and looted with its broken windows, trash, rotting corpses, and blood-spattered sidewalks, it would have almost been like a peaceful morning jog.

He encountered half a dozen infected in the first 30 minutes he was out. He maintained good sight lines and was careful about where any crawlers might be lurking. Sousuke zigzagged outward, widening his area of patrol every block he travelled further from Jindai. Based on his pace and the number of infected he encountered, he figured he would probably travel about 10 miles before he would make his way back to the settlement. The running wasn't that bad; he was in excellent shape.

That first run, Sousuke concentrated more on killing infected in the area than he did on collecting any useful items. By the time he returned, he had taken out about 20 infected. He made it home safely. He felt good. He was a part of a group of people who had a plan and were working hard to survive the new world. Sousuke indulged himself briefly in feeling of hope for the future.

-z-

When Sousuke reentered Jindai, he was asked for his kill count and route, and relieved of his weapon. Jin clapped him on the back with the first smile Sousuke had seen on the man's face.

"Not, too bad, Seven," he said. "Be back here by 4:30, got it?"

"Affirmative," Sousuke responded.

He left the gate area and wondered if it would be okay to go find Kaname. This was the longest they'd been apart since the world had ended. Sousuke made his way to the mess tent. The settlement was surprisingly louder and more boisterous than the evening before. The generators were gas-powered and rattled noisily. People talked softly, but above the harsh whispers of the night before.

The flaps of the mess tent were raised all around to allow for ventilation. Sousuke saw Kaname before she saw him. He saw her taking orders from an older woman, her forehead wrinkled in determination as she manned an industrial can opener that was clamped to the side of the table. For the first time in weeks, she didn't have that edge of despair in her features.

Sousuke didn't move, but something made Kaname look up. She locked eyes with Sousuke and broke into a wide smile. She put the can of beans aside and sprinted out to Sousuke with a high-pitched laugh. When she reached him she threw her arms around him in an enthusiastic embrace.

Sousuke was nearly thrown off balance with the force of her body crashing into his. He was almost too surprised to take note of the curves of her figure pressed against him. Almost.

"I was worried!" she exclaimed.

"I'm fine. It wasn't a problem." Sousuke couldn't stop his smile.

"Well, it's a little bit of a problem," Kaname answered as she disentangled herself from him. "You're kinda sweaty…"

"New Girl, get back here and stir that pot or it will burn!" came a voice from the mess tent, the older woman who was showing Kaname the ropes.

"She can't remember my name," she whispered in Sousuke's ear with a giggle. She then gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she ran back into the tent.

Sousuke was frozen. Before, all of the signs of affection Kaname had given him could have been interpreted as simply friendly, frightened, in need of comfort, or in need of human contact.

But she had kissed him. There was no mistaking it. Sousuke felt his knees go weak as the realization washed over him. Kaname liked him. Possibly romantically. This really was a whole new world.

-z-

Sousuke was famished by the time that lunch rolled around. He wished he could have said that it was the best thing he had ever tasted because Kaname had a hand in making it. But beans and rice without much other flavoring was not his favorite.

But it was filling and it gave him strength. And Kaname had given him a smile when she had ladled his beans. It was more than enough.

-z-

That evening, Sousuke and several of the others ran Scavenger duty. Sousuke wasn't as familiar with that part of Western City, so he wasn't as able to fill the grocery list as he would have liked. He did mentally note a hotel in his area that might be ripe with supplies, but he was worried about infected roaming the halls. He'd have to return again later to get supplies.

But Sousuke was able to find a bar with a lot of matches behind the hostess stand. He took them all. Along with over two dozen rolls of toilet paper he found in an abandoned house, his haul made him pretty popular with the other runners that evening.

-z-

After his turn in the shower, Sousuke made his way to the mess hall for dinner. It was rice again, only this time with some canned vegetable that tasted mostly like the can it came from. But Kaname had given him a wink from a prep table behind the chow line, so he probably wouldn't have tasted even the best meal served on fine china that night, anyway.

-z-

After dinner, Kaname and Sousuke made their way to the fire pit they'd sat at the night before. Shinji and Kyouko were already there.

They shared more stories of life before the infection as the sun set.

-z-

Sousuke was exhausted. He had probably run fifteen miles that day. Before, when Jin had mentioned tower duty, Sousuke couldn't imagine looking forward to it. Now, he wondered if he could volunteer for it the next day.

He lay back on the cot and looked up at Kaname expectantly. She looked uncharacteristically shy about joining him. She had taken off her jeans and stood in a long shirt and socks that sagged around her ankles. Her hair was still wet from her shower. She looked unbelievably beautiful.

Sousuke inched over to give her more room. She slid under the covers onto the cot next to him. Sousuke realized right away that Kaname wasn't wearing a bra.

No doubt it was more comfortable to sleep that way, but it put Sousuke on edge, even as tired has he was. He desperately hoped he would awake before Kaname the next day because there was no doubt in his mind that his attraction to her would definitely make itself known in his southern regions in his sleep.

But it was a situation that couldn't be helped. He would deal with it if and when it happened.

-z-

The next morning, it happened.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I just ran out of steam when it came to this story this summer. But, as I said, I have the thing all planned out, so it will all get written and posted... eventually. Thanks to everyone who is reading this and letting me know you like it. You've been what has kept me going with this story.


	7. Everything that Kills Me Makes Me Feel Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke and Kaname learn Jindai's routine, and as the months pass, they grow closer and closer.

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

7\. Everything that Kills Me Makes Me Feel Alive

-z-

Sousuke took a deep breath and prayed for something that would distract him from Kaname's warm, soft curves. Luckily, another Jindai resident shuffled by the pair, followed by another.

There was nothing more unsexy to Sousuke than the reminder that he and Kaname were camped down with other survivors while ravenous hordes outside the settlement were hoping to find a way in to eat them.

Kaname stirred against him and murmured something soft. Sousuke ran a finger around the outside of her face and watched her eyelids flutter open. This routine was fast becoming his favorite part of the day.

She yawned and groaned, trying to bury her face against his neck.

"Is it morning already?" she grumped.

"Affirmative. I have to get up and get to the gate. You can sleep a little longer."

"Mm. 'Kay. Be careful."

"Not a problem."

Sousuke stepped into his shoes and grabbed his toiletries and headed for the bathroom, pleased to see that the line wasn't too bad. He was about two steps away when he heard Kaname shift again behind him. "Sousuke?"

"What is it?"

"Try to find some spices. Especially salt, pepper, soy sauce, things like that. I don't think I can handle serving the bland food we've been giving all of you for long."

"I'll try."

Kaname plopped forward on the cot and Sousuke suspected that she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

-z-

"All right, runners," announced Jin in the soft glow of the predawn sky, "Five through Fifteen are Gunning this morning, the rest of you are on Scavenging duty. Do your jobs and everyone needs to be back here by twelve hundred hours at the latest. Infected activity was light last night, so you get extra time to pick up anything you can find. We're expecting big hauls today. And Gunners, try to lure infected away from Jindai. We've been getting a strong stench from the dead and we're not due for a clear-away for another couple of weeks. Get 'em away from here before you whack 'em. Don't let us down."

Sousuke readied himself as the gates started to rise. He felt a nudge on his arm and turned to find Kyouko grinning at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm kind of a floater in the settlement," she whispered. "Today I'm on Scavenging, Runner Twenty-Seven. We're low on food, so they've asked me to pitch in."

She gave a small wave and shooed him away. The gates had fully opened. "See ya later!" she chirped, surprisingly still whispering.

Sousuke took off to the southeast at a slow jog. He was tired from the day before and if he was expected to run for the next four-or-so hours, he would take his time.

The streets, as promised, were empty of infected. Only bodies of those killed in the days before stood as evidence to their threat. Any flickers of movement were from other runners jogging, looking for infected.

Sousuke considered the logistics of scavenging for the compound. Two meals a day for roughly 200 people, not to mention clothes, toiletries, tools, medicines, and anything else a thriving community might need meant that they needed a constant string of supplies coming in. He was glad that they were considering a vegetable patch, but Sousuke figured they might need a lot more. Like livestock. Chickens made eggs. Cows gave milk. All were great sources of food, not to mention the cows and chickens, themselves.

He would speak to Hiyashimizu about coming up with ways to make the settlement more self-sustaining, he decided.

About a mile away from Jindai, Sousuke found a group of three infected. They hadn't noticed him yet. Sousuke took them out. One, two, three.

-z-

Sousuke hunkered down in the shed, knowing that he wouldn't be seen. He flicked the walkie talkie from Kurz and heard his voice immediately.

"Calling Farmer Segal… Come in Farmer Segal… Calling farmer Segal… Come in Farmer Segal…"

Realizing that they might need to talk in code, Sousuke pressed the transmitter and answered, "Farmer Segal here. Over."

"Good. This is Urzu Six. How's your Angel? Over."

"Doing well. We're settled into… the farm. Over."

"Good. Looks like we'll have an early spring. You're tending crops, right? How many rows of soy are planted at your farm? Over?"

Sousuke thought a moment. He roughly guessed at what Kurz was trying to ask. "Around 200," he answered. "Tools in the shed and I'm currently on the lookout for vermin. Don't want to let them get at the crops. Over."

"Good to hear. Over."

"The farm looks good. For now anyway. It's still early… in the spring, so there's a lot of unknowns as of yet. Over."

"Understood. How's your fertilizer situation? Over."

Sousuke thought. Fertilizer fed crops. He must be talking about the food supply.

"Low, but we're in the process of getting more. Over."

"I read you. If it gets… bad… let me know. Okay? Over."

"Affirmative. Over."

"No contact until next week at the earliest. Understood? Not sure about hostile activity in the area. Over."

" Understood. Over."

"Looking forward to talking to you again, Farmer Segal. You take care of that Angel, you hear me? Over and out."

-z-

Sousuke's bag was heavy as he crouched under the opening gate at 11:30. He'd raided a restaurant five miles away and come back with loads of spices, two large bags of brown rice, and all of the remaining cured meat that they had in the pantry.

Sousuke wasn't the only one who had come in with quite a haul. An audience had formed to applaud the runners for all of their work and to see what they had coming. Some had come back with new clothes and shoes. Others had found a pharmacy that still had medicines. Still others found canned food and wild onions and garlic.

It was amazing how much easier survival was when there were fewer infected to have to deal with.

Meal time in the future was looking much more promising than it had been before.

-z-

The next day, the area around the compound was so mobbed with infected that no runners could be sent out at all that morning.

"Do they often come in waves like this?" Sousuke asked Jin.

"It happens," he said. "If there's an especially light or heavy day, it usually reverses itself in the next couple of days. But I would say that moderate levels of infected, similar to your first day are what is most usual."

"Hmm," Sousuke murmured, thoughtful.

"The disgusting good part of these mobs is that they… dispose of the bodies around here. Not that they smell any better, but at least they'll eventually move away."

Sousuke made a face, but nodded.

"We've got a couple of people tracking activity to see if there's any pattern, but they say they'll need a lot more data."

"So, what do we do if we're not running this morning?" Sousuke asked.

"Make yourself useful," was Jin's curt reply.

Sousuke nodded at suppressed an urge to stand at attention. He left the front gate and found his path was leading directly to the mess area. He wasn't sure what he could do for them. He suspected nothing. He admitted to himself that he wanted to see Kaname.

The flaps of the mess tent were raised to let the pleasant spring breeze through. Sousuke situated himself next to the noisy generator and found Kaname bustling about in the kitchen.

The mess tent workers were largely in a good mood. After the previous day's haul, lunch and dinner had been comparatively spectacular and compliments to the chefs had been effusive.

It seemed to Sousuke that the mess tent had a hierarchy. At least one woman seemed to be in charge and she seemed to be the only one in a bad mood. Her frown, offset with orange-red lipstick stood out like a slash across her face. She'd also hennaed her hair, making it a shocking, unnatural red. She barked orders and the people around her never appeared to follow her instructions quickly enough to suit her. Sousuke took an instant dislike to her.

Kaname, for her part, let all of the glares and sharp words just roll off her, answering questions with a smile and confidently manning her station, which was peeling potatoes found the previous day, and minding a pot steaming with something that smelled delicious.

At that moment, Kaname looked up from her potato and met Sousuke's eyes. He felt himself blush, knowing that he'd been staring. He gave a small wave.

Kaname's cheeks flooded with color as well and she ducked her head with a surprised smile. She returned his wave, then gave him a questioning glance.

"Potatoes, New Girl!" the red-haired woman shouted.

Sousuke left to find anyone who needed his help in the compound before he got Kaname into any more trouble.

-z-

"I don't know how you could put up with her all day!" exclaimed Kyouko as the usual four of them sat around the fire that night.

Kaname smiled and shook her head. "Akane is all right. She just likes things the way she likes them."

"Ugh. She yells all the time!" Kyouko had been a go-fer, delivering messages all day. "I was just telling her that the doctor told me that a couple of the kids have some food allergies and if she could set aside some of the food so that it didn't have some ingredients. You'd have thought I accused her of spitting in the food!"

Kaname had no defense to give to her supervisor, so she just shrugged. Just about everyone would have seen Kaname's gesture as one of quiet acceptance to her fate, but Sousuke saw the hard glint in Kaname's eyes. She didn't like being bossed around by someone who didn't respect her work more than anyone else, but she was putting on a happy face, allowing it… for now. Sousuke bit back a grin at Kaname. He knew she wouldn't be taking orders from Akane forever and he was intensely proud of her spirit. Sousuke forced his eyes away from Kaname in order to reengage in the conversation, which was still occurring.

"You spending a lot of time with Dr. Yoshi?" asked Shinji.

"Yeah," replied Kyouko. "She heard about my interest in nursing before… you know… and she's asking me to hang out at the medical area more often so that she can train me."

"Well, that's good, right?" asked Kaname. "You said that running wasn't your favorite."

"Yeah, I guess," answered Kyouko. "It's just… well, what if someone is bitten? I mean, I know what happens. We report to the Round Table and then that person is... what? I mean, do we wait until they've turned or give them the option?"

"Has something like that happened here that you know of?" asked Sousuke.

"Dr. Yoshi says yes, but she didn't give me any details. I know it has to be done, but it just feels awful to be part of it, you know?"

Kaname hummed in agreement while Shinji cast his eyes downward.

"But I guess it's not something Dr. Yoshi should have to be responsible for all by herself," finished Kyouko with a shrug. "Hopefully, it won't happen…"

"Hopefully," Kaname responded, speaking everyone's mind.

-z-

Little-by-little, Sousuke and Kaname began to understand the routine of the settlement. Sousuke left in the mornings to run and scavenge and hunt while Kaname worked the mess tent, making friends with fellow cooks and beginning to understand the structure of the kitchen.

She confided in Sousuke that Akane had experience cooking at a hospital, which is why she was in charge. But Kaname was suspecting that Akane may have exaggerated her experience some because some of her actions belied her claims. Akane never seemed to know how many people it would take to prepare a portion of the meal or know how much food would be needed every day. Hiccups in the kitchen could all be traced back to a decision that Akane made, though she loudly blamed everyone else for her mistakes.

Sousuke had contacted Kurz again, but had little more to share. He communicated that he liked Jindai and that things were going well for him and Kaname. Sousuke learned how to effectively vary his runs, sometimes coordinating with a partner to watch one another's backs while exploring new buildings.

He learned the intricacies of Tower duty five days into the stay at Jindai. It was a later posting, after dinner until the late hours. A small group of settlers, self-proclaimed night owls, had all asked for permanent overnight positions on the wall. This meant that the other runners could all be assured to have rested the night before. Sousuke, while on Tower duty and carrying loaded firearms, would patrol the roofs of the school and take out any infected that seemed to be trying to enter the school. Other infected were just to be reported on since gunfire tended to attract more infected to the area.

It was all exhausting work, but their routines did the job. Food and supplies were coming into the settlement as needed and people there felt safe. With the routine established, the real marker of time for Sousuke was Kaname and how much bolder she was getting with him.

Every night, she held his hand for a little longer at the fire. Every day, when she greeted him as he came back from the morning run, her kiss moved closer and closer to his mouth and lingered for just a fraction of a second longer. Every night and every morning, it took Sousuke just a little bit longer to remember where he was and to not give in to the temptation to hold her tighter, to let his hands wander. There were moments when he was honestly curious how long they could keep this strange flirtation before they cracked.

He was just musing on his imminent madness on the way to bed with Kaname for the night when he saw Satsu. She was Runner Thirteen and Sousuke had partnered with her in the past while scavenging. She smiled at him and Kaname and handed over a key on a long string.

"This is the key to Supply Closet B, inside, second floor. Bring your own cot. It's windowless, but has a lantern. Don't waste the kerosene." Satsu smiled and gave a bawdy wink at the couple. "And don't worry about noise in there. The walls are pretty thick. Have fun, you two!" She flipped her hair over her shoulder as she went to the cot she shared with Yumi, Runner Twenty-two.

Sousuke stood, kind of confused. He saw Kaname blushing beside him. He opened his mouth to ask a question when Satsu was suddenly standing before him again.

"Oh! I forgot. Be sure to give the key to Haru or Tama tomorrow night."

Sousuke nearly slapped his head when he realized. It had been two weeks. It was their turn for a private room for the night.

-z-

The line to the shower was a little longer than Sousuke anticipated, so Kaname was the first to the room. He knocked before he entered because he didn't want to alarm her. His mind was whirling with questions and possibilities. He was fully prepared to sleep on the floor if she wanted her space. But he had the idea she wouldn't want that. He wouldn't let himself wonder what more she might want beyond sleep for that night.

"Come on in," was Kaname's unusually soft reply.

Sousuke stepped into the yellow-green glow of the room and his breath was snatched away.

Kaname was only wearing panties and a t-shirt. She stood shyly beside the cot, arms clasped behind her back as she stared at the ground in front of her.

After a few seconds, Kaname looked up and asked, "Could you shut the door?"

Regaining a little of his senses, Sousuke did as she asked as quickly as possible before resuming his unabashed staring.

Kaname was stunning. Her legs were still a little too slim from their recent deprivations, but there was the beginning of a very noticeable bump forming just above her panties. Now that Sousuke was taking the time to actually look, he saw a few other changes to her. Her face was a little fuller, her breasts were a little heavier. They were small changes, easily hidden under loose clothing, but intensely fascinating to Sousuke.

Kaname sighed, sounding frustrated. Sousuke was on the cusp of apologizing for staring when Kaname crossed the room in two steps and embraced him, flinging her arms around his neck.

"Ka-" Sousuke's voice was stilled by Kaname's mouth on his own.

Her lips were wet and unbelievably sweet as they moved against his. After the initial shock, Sousuke responded. His hands moved to her hips, delved under her shirt and around to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.

Sousuke lost himself in the sensations. It was more than he ever wanted and even if his brain refused to compute what was happening, but his mouth, his hands, his body were responding appropriately. The sweet, astounding kiss stretched into the future and into the past so that it felt truly endless. There was nothing in his life before this moment and nothing after. There was nothing else, only he and Kaname existed.

Those beautiful lies ended too quickly as Kaname leaned back in his arms. Sousuke was breathing hard, unable to speak.

"S-… Sousuke," Kaname was finally able to whisper after a few false starts. "We need to talk."

Sousuke didn't trust his voice. He nodded and noted with some satisfaction that Kaname's strides were a little shaky, her hand a little sweaty, as she went to sit on the cot and pulled him after her.

Sousuke was glad to sit. His knees had literally gone weak and he thought he might melt into the floor with pure happiness if he had to walk much longer than the three steps to the cot.

Kaname restlessly bent her knees up under her chin, then dropped her feet back to the floor. Half of her face hid in the shadows and she seemed to be trying to collect her nerve.

Sousuke, nervous but still amused at how nervous Kaname seemed, leaned over and kissed Kaname's cheek. It was the first kiss he'd ever really initiated with her and it made her giggle and finally meet his eyes. "Let's talk," Sousuke offered.

Kaname took a breath. "Yamato was a good man. He would have been a good husband for me before all of this started."

Sousuke felt confused. He bit back questions about what that had to do with that mind-altering kiss she'd just hammered him with.

"Yamato was under the same pressures I was to get married, to make sure that the family, the Shou Company, looked respectable. We had a lot in common, actually," she gave a little laugh. "The main thing we had in common is that we were both in love with someone else."

Surprise welled up in Sousuke's belly. Yamato seemed so mild. It wasn't hard to believe a woman like Kaname would have passionate feelings about someone else, but Yamato?

"We came up with a plan. We'd marry, have a son, then he would stop coming to the main house. His… lover would go to live with him in his cottage… and I could be with you." Kaname looked at Sousuke with a little apprehension.

"I mean, I don't know for sure if you would have had me…"

Sousuke laughed out loud. "It probably would have taken some convincing," he admitted. "But I would have come around."

Kaname smiled again. "But for me, it was always going to be you. I only ever wanted a life with you, even if it meant I had to marry another man and have his child." She rested her hands on her small belly.

Sousuke couldn't answer. He just scooted closer to Kaname and wrapped one arm around her shoulder and rested his other hand on top of hers, cradling her belly.

She continued, "So I have to ask. I know this little guy isn't yours… but will you help me?"

"Of course," he answered without hesitation.

"No, I mean, will you be his… or her… father? Raise her like you would your own?"

Sousuke laughed again. "I know what you meant. Of course. I would do anything for you and for this little one. There's never been anyone but you for me and I can't think that I could love any baby of yours less for having a father that wasn't me."

A weight seemed to lift off of Kaname and happiness lit her face in ways that the lantern beams couldn't touch. "So this means that you and I… being together… is pretty official, right?" she asked, the grin on her face growing even wider."

Sousuke answered with a kiss. Then another. And another, well into the night.

They didn't make love that night. Everything still felt too new and they were far too nervous, but any mental walls that still existed between them, any idea that they couldn't be together, came crashing down in the soft lantern glow.

-z-

The next weeks passed in a daze for Sousuke. The regular routine held up. It rained, the sun reemerged. Sousuke ran, killed infected, and foraged for food and supplies.

And he and Kaname were becoming adept at finding safe secret corners in which to make out whenever both of them could get away from their assignments.

After two weeks, it was once again their turn for the private room.

This time, it wasn't just the emotional walls that ceased to be a barrier between the two, but their clothes stopped being a barrier as well.

-z-

"Thanks for coming with me," Kaname said as she and Sousuke walked hand-in-hand through the settlement.

"It's not a problem," he said in a way he hoped was reassuring. He still wasn't used to being so open and honest with how he was feeling, so he regularly fell back on words that felt most comfortable to him and hoped that they still conveyed his feelings for her. He wanted to tell her that it would all be all right, but, truthfully, he wasn't sure.

They finally stopped in front of the medical bay. "Kaname! Sousuke!" Kyouko greeted them. She launched herself at Kaname for a full embrace. Sousuke smiled, happy that the two had made such good friends in the months that they'd been at the settlement.

"Kyouko!" Kaname's greeting was just as effusive. Then she lowered her voice, "Is Dr. Yoshi busy?"

"Are you sick?"

"Um, no. I'm…" She stopped talking and brought her hands to her belly, pulling the looser clothes she'd exchanged for her old clothes days before, showing off the bump that she could no longer easily hide.

Kyouko gasped. Then whooped and jumped with joy. Then she hit Sousuke in the shoulder with enough force that he was knocked off balance. He supposed it could have been a congratulatory punch or a punch for getting her friend into such a predicament in a deadly apocalypse. He accepted it either way.

Kyouko led them into the tent and to a small woman who was studying a slide under a microscope.

"Dr. Yoshi, this is Kaname. She's my friend," Kyouko made the introductions. "And this is her partner, Sousuke."

Dr. Yoshi glanced up at Kaname before looking back at her microscope. She was a small, bird-like woman with shrewd eyes and streaks of grey in her hair. "How far along are you?" she asked immediately.

Slightly taken aback at the curt, intuitive reply, Kaname responded, "Six months. Um, around 24 weeks I think. I haven't seen a calendar since… you know."

"Hmm," Dr. Yoshi mused as she wheeled away from her microscope on a rolly-chair. "Kyouko, I'm going to do an exam."

Kyouko nodded and left the room. Sousuke felt uncomfortable, but Kaname held onto his hand tightly.

After recording Kaname's weight, Dr. Yoshi held up a blanket and Kaname shimmied off her pants and hopped up onto the exam table and laid back. Kyouko reentered with a tray of medical supplies and aside from the gloves, Sousuke couldn't identify the tools provided.

Temperature, pulse, and blood pressure all revealed normal findings.

"You knew about this pregnancy before the infection started?" asked the doctor.

"Yeah, I actually found out the day it all started."

"You should have told me about this sooner," chided Dr. Yoshi.

"I wasn't sure if I'd get kicked out. You know, another mouth to feed."

"The Round Table has decided that we don't turn away children. Ever. We all need to stay human. We may not be able to support all adults, but we'll do anything we can for the kids and we've never turned one away." Dr. Yoshi had Kaname lay back.

"Oh," was Kaname's reply.

"You feeling okay?" Dr. Yoshi began palpating Kaname's belly and Sousuke watched with some fascination.

"Yeah. Luckily it's been an easy pregnancy. I started off feeling really tired, then I started feeling better at around what I think is thirteen weeks. Now I'm starting to feel run down again."

"That's pretty normal. Are you getting the right nutrition? I know you work in the kitchen."

"Yeah, I try to keep pretty balanced with what I eat that's available. Also, I take prenatal vitamins every morning. My doctor from before gave me enough to last through the pregnancy."

"Really?" She put her stethoscope in her ears and listened to different points of Kaname's abdomen.

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty lucky."

"Hmm. Well, the baby has a strong heartbeat. I obviously don't have the equipment to check a lot of things that are normal to check. I can do a little blood work, but I think I'll do that in two weeks when I have more time."

"So everything looks okay?" asked Sousuke.

"Yes," the doctor answered. "Good placement, strong heart, healthy mom. We'll check your blood sugars in two weeks, so make sure you see me then, okay Kaname?"

"I'll be here."

"Good." For the first time, Dr. Yoshi smiled. "It'll be nice to have a new life in here. Come by if anything starts to feel even a little bit off, okay?"

"I promise."

-z-

Time marched on. Spring bled into Summer. Kaname grew rounder gave up trying to hide her pregnancy from the rest of the settlement. The weather grew hot, rainy, and muggy. The veggie patch grew thick and ripe with peppers, beans, cucumbers, daikon, leek, and carrots.

After numerous talks with Hiyashimizu and the rest of the Round Table, Sousuke convinced the settlement to send a group of six runners north of the city to the surrounding farm land to see if there was anything to be salvaged from those places. The four-day mission was a rousing success as the runners came home with a half-dozen laying hens and two roosters that could provide eggs, chicks, and meat. They also had managed to coax back three nanny goats and one billy that could be bred and milked to Jindai. The settlement was becoming somewhat self-sustaining, which was good because the area near the former school was becoming picked clean by the daily scavenges.

In fact, it was the fresh food that enabled Kaname and the other kitchen workers to stage a coup of sorts against Akane. She obviously had no experience with fresh food storage and a couple of batches of the hard-earned veggies went bad before she could think of a use for them. As a result, the kitchen staff, led by Kaname, went to the Round Table and had her removed from kitchen leadership. Kaname was voted to her position. Akane, though she seemed embarrassed, seemed to take the demotion well and didn't complain.

For several consecutive months, things were going well for everyone. Then the luck soured a little at the beginning of August.

First, two runners went missing during a mission. Runners Five and Eleven just didn't return home. They were both single and tended to be loners, so many in the settlement simply hoped that they had found a situation that they liked better, living on their own or in another settlement. The truth was probably not as rosy. Bodies were never recovered.

Then, two days later, another runner went missing. Runner Thirty-two, like the runners before, didn't come home at the appointed time. In his semi-weekly talks with Kurz, Sousuke confided that things didn't feel right. Thirty-two had a wife at Jindai and was by all accounts, a good, careful worker. He should have come home. Kurz had no intel on any of the local infected activity, but warned caution, especially since the enemies didn't have to be undead to be dangerous. Sousuke signed off and double-checked the storage shed for the supplies he had amassed in the months since he joined Jindai.

He'd found more weapons, crowbars, long pipes, and even a machete. There were non-perishable packets of food, enough for two weeks for two people. He'd even found and stored another bicycle. He liked Jindai and hoped he was just being paranoid, but it was good to plan, just in case.

When Sousuke arrived back at the front gates later that morning, he saw an unusual buzzing about the settlement.

"What's going on?" he asked Jin.

"New blood coming in. Three of them. They were carrying assault rifles and look really tough. If they've survived out there for this long, it might be good to have them around if our runners keep going missing."

"Hmm." Sousuke was unconvinced. He didn't like the coincidence of three missing runners, then three survivors just happening by soon after. He followed the whispering crowd to the new settlement members.

The crowd broke in front of him and his blood thinned to water. He recognized the tall man with the scarred face in the middle of the group Hiyashimizu was escorting through the compound.

There was no mistake. Things were about to get very, very bad.

One of his new neighbors at Jindai was none other Gauron.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: I finally had enough time to sit and plot this chapter out as it should be. Sorry for the delay. Notes for this chapter can be found on my Dreamwidth or Livejournal pages under the user name "starzki" and the tag "full metal panic."


	8. I Won't Turn Out Like You Want Me To

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a fox in the henhouse. Sousuke tries to discover what Gauron would want with Jindai.

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

8\. I Won't Turn Out Like You Want Me To

-z-

Nearly blind with panic, Sousuke found that his legs were running to the mess tent. His breath rushed out of him when he saw Kaname busily giving orders to those working around her. She was oblivious to his terror, which was good; he didn't want her to panic, too.

Instead, he did what he could to walk calmly to the communications building.

Besides the vegetable patch, this area had seen the most changes in the months that Sousuke and Kaname had joined the compound. Those changes were largely due to Shinji's work.

Shinji was amazing with electronics. He'd managed to take the various wires, cables, and electronic gear that the runners were able to bring home and build a very powerful radio antenna. Jindai could communicate with other settlements across the city and even as far as some of the suburbs of Southern City. They'd not yet been able to coordinate with the other settlements, and they were very careful about the information they shared, but it was a start.

Sousuke, though, was more interested in Shinji's new project. Using the school's existing security features, Shinji was able to hook up a number of monitors and establish a closed circuit video feed from around the settlement. That way, any runner, go-fer, or anyone else could be found immediately. Also, everyone could know if someone was sneaking into the veggie patch. Some of the infected activity surrounding the school could be monitored without sending human beings in to some of the blind spots around the corners.

"Hi, Sousuke, how's it going?" Shinji asked. Sousuke often dropped by the communications area, but never directly after a run, so Shinji looked a little surprised.

"Could be better," Sousuke mumbled. He scanned the CCTV monitors and found Gauron almost immediately. His group was at the dorm tents, single men's side. Sousuke pointed the group out. "You see this guy?"

"Yeah?"

"We're going to need to keep an eye on him."

"Really?"

Sousuke nodded gravely.

"Why?"

Sousuke hesitated before answering. "I know him… from before. He's not a good guy."

Seriousness overshadowed curiosity on Shinji's face. He nodded back at Sousuke. "I'll do what I can."

"Thank you. I'll explain things tonight."

-z-

Sousuke couldn't stop himself from nervously pacing the compound. He even skipped lunch because he was afraid he'd come face-to-face with Gauron, which was a scenario he'd like to avoid forever, if possible.

It felt inevitable, though. Gauron would see him. He would recognize him. But then what? It was a completely different world than the life he used to live down in the Basin. Sousuke didn't think for a moment that Gauron had (or even could) change. But with the way the world was now, Sousuke wondered if Gauron could manage to keep up his old ways.

Then, Sousuke realized, that with the collapse of any semblance of order would only make it easier for Gauron and his kind to keep on perpetuating their evil.

Sousuke wondered what Gauron was doing at Jindai. This type of settlement, while good for protection and supplies, probably didn't have near the protection or supplies that Gauron and his ilk had stashed away for just such occasions as the apocalypse.

There was no doubt, Sousuke decided, Gauron was here to make trouble.

-z-

"What is going on with you, Sousuke?" Kaname asked that evening at the fire. She had noticed is anxious behavior, the way he kept a watchful eye around them even as he gently rubbed her swollen ankles.

"Yeah, you said you'd explain why you wanted me to keep an eye on that new guy," added Shinji.

Kyouko and the others looked at Sousuke with curiosity as he gathered his thoughts.

"I used to live in the city, down in the Basin," Sousuke explained. "A lot of kids without parents lived down there and we were kind of adopted by the crime syndicates there."

"I remember you saying that," answered Kaname. "It sounded awful. All of those adults taking advantage of homeless kids. Using you." She frowned.

Sousuke sighed, not wanting to get too far into the details. "Well then you'll remember the red house."

"The red house?" asked Shinji.

Kaname gave a small gasp, then looked at Sousuke. He knew he must look miserable because she took it upon herself to explain. "It's a red brick hotel in the Basin. Some adults took the weaker, younger kids to the building… and kind of sold the kids."

"Wait, what?" asked Kyouko.

"Prostitution. Human trafficking," offered Sousuke finally.

Shinji took off his glasses and rubbed his nose in frustration as he realized what Sousuke was saying. Kyouko crossed her arms in front of her and dropped her eyes to the fire.

"Gauron was one of those adults who were luring the kids into the red house," Sousuke finished explaining. "He and I got to be serious enemies during my time down in the Basin, mostly because he thought he could win me over to his side."

Kyouko made a squeaking noise and Shinji looked aghast. "We have to tell someone!" he said.

"There are kids here," hissed Kyouko.

Sousuke gestured for them to keep it down. "I know. I don't think he's going to try anything like that here. At least not right away. But I don't think telling people will work. We all know that everything is different now. Most of us accept that we're not the same people we used to be and are willing to give each other the benefit of the doubt. Gauron will be counting on that, and something tells me if we insist on expelling him, things are going to get really ugly and really violent. Maybe if we can figure out his plan, we can stop him without anyone getting hurt."

"I don't know, Sousuke" said Kaname. "It seems like a really big risk, for you especially."

"All I know is that things are mostly good here at Jindai. Peaceful. If he and his friends start acting out, this problem will fix itself without having to make ourselves targets. I really don't want to draw his attention any more than I already will. He's the kind of man who would hurt my friends to get to me." Sousuke slipped his hand into Kaname's and couldn't hide his anxious look. Her eyes softened and she managed a small smile for him. He leaned in and was rewarded with a small kiss.

Shinji and Kyouko fidgeted with some alarm, but came to see Sousuke's point of view. They'd be keeping a close eye on the Gauron and the other two, for now.

-z-

The confrontation was bound to happen. Two days after the newcomers arrived, Sousuke came face-to-face with Gauron while getting lunch in the mess hall.

Kaname had just piled Sousuke's plate high with rice and some dried chicken stew when Sousuke turned and nearly ran into Gauron.

"Watch where you're going," growled Gauron. Then he looked Sousuke up and down. A definite smirk pulled up the corners of the older man's mouth. "Oh, I beg your pardon," he amended. There was no doubt that he had recognized Sousuke.

Sousuke clenched. Every muscle from his jaw to his toes flexed, bracing for a fight.

Gauron laughed openly at Sousuke and clapped him on the shoulder. He wasn't going to start anything in the middle of the compound, it seemed, even though the two of them had been in enemy gangs while in the Basin. Sousuke had even spearheaded the cooperation between some gangs in order to try to take out the business at the red house. Gauron was acting like it was water under the bridge.

Sousuke knew better. If Gauron and whoever he was working for were infiltrating survivor settlements, it wasn't to help.

Sousuke sat and shoveled lunch into his mouth. Even Kaname's excellent dish tasted like sand when he could feel Gauron's eyes boring into the back of his head from across the room.

-z-

"There's a fox in the henhouse. Repeat. There is a fox in the henhouse. Over."

Sousuke's receiver buzzed to life. "What kind of fox? Over."

"Really sneaky one that used to prowl the Basin a few years ago. He went after the young ones."

"I see. Different… prey now, you suspect? Maybe your fox is just seeking shelter?"

"Negative. The coincidence of losing other… livestock… at the same time doesn't sit well. Things are about to get bad here."

Sousuke heard a heavy sigh over the airwaves before conversation continued. "I'm inclined to agree. We've been researching… varmints… especially like those you described in the Basin. Most didn't survive the infection, but those who did dug in and seemed to be well-supplied. They shouldn't be venturing into your… henhouse. Coming up would only put them in danger of the infected."

"Agreed. I'm not sure how to proceed. Rules of the farm are the past is in the past and we all do the best we can right now. As long as everyone is pulling their weight, nothing will be done. And the fox is not about to cause obvious trouble, but I don't want to wait this out."

Kurz allowed another frustrated noise on the walkie talkie. "I understand your predicament. I have no specific recommendations at this time. I will ask around. Things are starting to move forward on my end, so I might be able to help some time in the future. But not right now. Keep an eye on that fox. Protect your Angel and the little one that's on the way. I'll be on the comms every day. "

Sousuke felt confused. "You and yours suspect something that you need my info?"

A small laugh. "Maybe. Can't go into detail. But we've been watching movement from the Basin and it's too coordinated to be nothing. We suspect very deep pockets and if they're employing… varmints… they're at cross-purposes for most people's survival. I'd say bad luck that a fox found his way to your farm, but I think they've infiltrated most farms in the area."

Sousuke thought this over. If the gangs in the Basin were risking infection by coming out of whatever bunkers they had, they had to be motivated by some force. And any force that would team up with human traffickers couldn't be looking to help any survivors that had escaped death so far.

"Most farms? Are the varmints… looking for something?"

"Classified information. Sorry. But if you don't start problems, they might eventually move on."

"Unlikely. Even if they don't find what they're looking for, a fox will take what it can before leaving."

"True. Like I said, stay in touch whenever possible. Even if I'm not here, someone will be manning this side so that you can share intel."

"Affirmative. Will give any info I can as long as you can promise that you'll try to help us if we need it."

"I can't give promises, but do know that I'm doing everything I can. I won't forget how you and your Angel helped us out. I'm doing my best."

Sousuke felt the first bit of relief he'd experienced since Gauron came to Jindai. "Thank you. Over and out."

-z-

The next few days passed without incident, but there was a new charge in the settlement. Sousuke believed it had something to do with the way Gauron and has two friends prowled the grounds. They never sat still, were always on the move. They put on friendly faces and seemed to be making it a point of getting to know everyone, but there was a definite menace behind their eyes.

One of them was always armed in some way. Whenever they talked to others, one could be peeling an apple or cutting a thumbnail with a knife. Other times, they swung baseball bats around, saying that they were going to the recreational area, but only actually winding up there after a few hours. Any threat was subtle and easy for them to explain away, but Sousuke had seen similar tactics before.

What was worse, though, is that Gauron did seem to take an interest in Kaname. He was never anything but respectful, but was persistent in his questions whenever they crossed paths and she wasn't with Sousuke. He asked her where she was from and about her pregnancy. The questions weren't different than other survivors at Jindai asked Kaname, and she only ever answered in the same generalities as she gave everyone else, but she shuddered as she informed Sousuke of a recent run-in.

Sousuke thought about it, what would happen if a confrontation did arise between him and Gauron. Sousuke was relatively confident that the settlement would mostly side with him. He was quiet and generally kept to himself, but his missions were successful and Hiyashimizu often backed him and his ideas. Kaname, too, was very well-liked at Jindai. Her cooking and, surprisingly, her pregnancy were both enjoyed by most people. They loved her food and saw her pregnancy as something to look forward to: a new hope. Therefore those who didn't know Sousuke well or didn't like him much would still back him up because of Kaname.

Gauron was getting some following, though. Those who had been especially fearful, runners who didn't like running or those who had been too damaged by the sights they'd seen before making it to Jindai, seemed to respect Gauron and his men. He oozed violence and, to many, that violence translated into protection from the infected. Akane, former head of the kitchen, had taken a real shine to Gauron, too. Though well over a decade (probably two) older than Gauron, she still followed him around and flirted with him whenever she had the chance. He didn't seem receptive, but didn't push her away.

Overall, Sousuke liked his chances if there were to be a blow up between him and Gauron. That's where his anxiety grew. No way would Gauron ever start a fight he knew he couldn't win. Plans must be in place to tip the scales in his favor and Sousuke knew he had to ready himself to whatever that wicked man had planned.

-z-

A week after Gauron came to Jindai, Sousuke, Kaname, Kyouko, and Shinji traded notes in whispered tones over the campfire. August was slipping away and the heat of the day dissipated in the earlier and earlier nights.

"They keep coming back with more ammo and guns," explained Kyouko. "I mean, how did we miss all of those weapons caches?" Gauron and his friends had been assigned as runners and had immediately gained favor for all of the supplies they scavenged.

Sousuke frowned in answer.

"Also," Kyouko continued, "They always seem to come up with exactly what Jindai needs. Whether it's food, electrical equipment, or medicines, they look like heroes every day. I wouldn't complain, but they never come back sweaty or tired."

"It's like they have it stashed just around the corner. I wonder what they're doing with all the time they're out running," Sousuke mused.

"Also, I think they ignored that five-year-old boy from today. I know that they must have run past him. I heard him crying from three blocks away, but they didn't do anything to help him. I'm just glad I got to him before any infected zeroed in on his cries," said Kyouko. "I mean, you have to be some kind of a monster to leave a kid on his own out there, not that I really want those guys around kids after what you said, but still. It makes me wonder what they think is so much more important that having as many people as possible survive this world."

"Maybe if we can get more cameras up, we can start to track their movements," said Shinji.

"That will take a lot of time, though, and I'm not sure that we have it," said Sousuke.

"Should we… try to follow them?" asked Kyouko, worry creasing her brow.

"Negative. You should keep doing what you're doing. I'll follow them."

"But they already know you," said Kaname. "They'll be looking for you to tail them."

"I'm pretty good at looking innocent," laughed Kyouko. "If I 'just happen' to stumble after them on a run, I can be pretty convincing that it was an accident and that I just got lost."

"I don't like that idea," said Shinji.

"Me neither," said Sousuke.

"But there isn't anyone else here to do it. And the three of them all always go together, so we have that working for us," Kyouko explained. "I can just see where they go and tell you. Then, you can check it out later when they have a day off or something."

Kaname frowned and put an arm around her friend. "You don't have to do this." Sousuke continued frowning and nodded with Kaname.

"If they're going to do something, it's bad enough that you're associated with me," said Sousuke. "You don't need to be risking yourself like this."

Kyouko gave a small, frustrated growl. "Of course I do!" she didn't raise her voice, but emphasized her words. "You are my friends and you're all I have right now. If the doctor doesn't need my help, I'm running and I will follow them. You don't get to say where I run."

Sousuke begrudgingly accepted that Kyouko was going to do what she thought was helpful. And truthfully, it really might be.

"Um, guys…" said Shinji as an unhappy quiet settled over their small group. "I thought I should also bring up that Gauron has been in the comms area quite a bit in the last day or so. He says he's just curious, but I got the feeling that he was checking out the equipment and that he knew a lot more than he was saying. He spent a lot of time watching the monitors."

The group looked at one another with anxious curiosity.

"I'm being sent into the school to get the equipment we need for our next project, so I can't be there all the time to see what he's up to."

"It's just good to know he's interested," said Sousuke. "You have enough work. Just keep doing what you're doing and let me know if anything changes. I'll try to keep an eye on the comms area, too, if it helps."

-z-

During the beginning of the last full week of August, with Kaname's September 3rd due date fast approaching, everything seemed to happen at once.

It all started and early afternoon when Sousuke and some other runners were sitting with a few of the self-selected researchers of infected movements around the settlement. They had just been warning the runners about their prediction of coming hordes of infected to hit the area in the next few days when Shinji burst into the tent, breathless.

"Sousuke, you need to get to her now!"

Sousuke was on his feet instantly with worst-case scenarios running through his head. "Where is she?" he demanded.

"The dorms, I think it's your bunk," he answered with a slight asthmatic wheezing. Shinji tried to keep up as Sousuke took off across the settlement. "I saw Gauron snooping around your bed area on the cameras when Kaname stopped by. She saw what he was doing and she just left. I wasn't sure what to do, so I watched her make her way there and I think she's confronting him. So I came to find you!"

"You did the right thing," answered Sousuke, but he still wished that Shinji had come to him earlier. "Go back to the comms. Find someone to watch with you. It'll be safer and we'll have some other witnesses."

Shinji immediately changed course, not questioning his orders. Sousuke tried to calm down. There wasn't a reason that he could imagine for Gauron to hurt Kaname. She wasn't a threat. She was nine months pregnant and practically Jindai's mascot.

But Sousuke also knew how much Gauron loved violence. He'd seen him kill a man in the street for no reason that Sousuke could reckon. The man had been unaffiliated with the gangs, homeless, but only a part of the scenery. The murder had brought the police around, stifling business as usual and creating a headache for everyone in the Basin. Sousuke knew that Gauron didn't sweat it if some of his recreational murder got in the way of business.

It took only a minute to race across the settlement to the dorm areas. It was enough time for Sousuke to imagine the worst.

He entered the tent and saw Kaname and Gauron facing off about ten feet apart amongst the empty cots. Gauron had Kaname's backpack in his hands and Kaname was red-faced and furious, pointing at him.

"Put my things down!" Kaname yelled for what Sousuke guessed, based on familiarity with her exasperated tones, was at least the third time.

"Hey now," was Gauron's calm, smooth response. "I had heard that some people had contraband and I was told to check things out."

Sousuke moved between the two. "Contraband? And who exactly told you to check things out?"

"Jindai is about sharing, so I've heard. People get upset if you don't share everything you have if it could benefit others, too." Gauron smirked and reached into the pack and pulled out Kaname's vitamins. "I would guess that a lot of people would like to be sure they're getting all of their vitamins, too."

"Those are prenatal vitamins, you jerk," seethed Kaname, trying to edge around Sousuke to snatch her things back. Sousuke held her off.

"But vitamins are vitamins. Maybe some of the kids here need them more." Sousuke heard Kaname growl behind him.

Unsure of what Gauron was getting at and knowing that they had a probable audience via the cameras, Sousuke kept calm. "Dr. Yoshi is fully aware of Kaname taking these vitamins. In fact, she's directed that Kaname continue to do so. I think that Jindai's doctor would be the first to insist she share the vitamins if anyone else here needed them more than she does."

The smile dropped off of Gauron's face as he regarded the bottle. Then, it slowly stretched across his face once again. "Well, we need to make sure the little one is taken care of, eh Mrs. Watanabe?" He put the vitamins back in the pack, set it down on the cot, and backed away with both hands raised in surrender. "My apologies. It does seem like there's no contraband here."

"You never said who ordered you to look for 'contraband,'" reminded Sousuke.

"I didn't? Well that's strange," said Gauron over his shoulder while he walked away, swallowed by the bustle of the settlement outside.

-z-

Kaname was still fuming when they got ready for bed that night. "The absolute nerve of him…"

"He's up to something," said Sousuke as he sat on the cot. He was tired. Long conversations had been relayed between the comms area that had seen the exchange, Sousuke, and Hiyashimizu, who was busy with other Round Table business.

It had been discovered that while no one had ordered Gauron to search people's belongings, he had been present when the subject of people keeping desired goods for themselves had come up during a Round Table meeting. Someone had suggested random searches of the bunks, but no resolution had come of the idea. Gauron, when asked, simply stated that he must have misunderstood the interaction.

Sousuke wasn't happy with the explanation, but others seemed willing to let it go.

Kaname went through her things once again, making sure that nothing was really missing. "And that 'Mrs. Watanabe' dig. What did he mean by that exactly?" she groused. "He knows I go by Chidori here."

"I don't know. It's on the vitamins, right?"

"Yeah, but still. He seems so ready to have other people forget the past, why is he making such a point of bringing it up? And, really, Hiyashimizu didn't do anything about it?" Kaname shoved her pack under the cot and sat back-to-back with Sousuke. He half turned and embraced her around her shoulders, sweeping away her hair and putting a small kiss on the nape of her neck.

"They told him he was forbidden from going through anyone's things unless expressly ordered to do so."

Kaname laid back, scooting to the edge as much as she could. Her advanced pregnancy had made the sleeping arrangements a little more challenging. Sousuke sidled up to her and curved his arm around her belly. Some nights, he could feel the movements of the baby within, gently bumping against his arm. As much as he worried about Gauron, whenever he held Kaname like that, his mind couldn't help but be happy and tranquil.

"We have to keep an eye on him…" yawned Kaname. Late pregnancy was taking its toll. There were many nights she didn't sleep well, so she took advantage when both she and the baby agreed on the time to rest.

Sousuke took a long look at his sleepy girlfriend. As she drifted off, the tension melted from around her eyes and she looked like the girl he had first met years ago. He quietly kissed her mouth and settled in beside her. He fell asleep trying to predict the ways in which Gauron might come at him next.

-z-

The next day, Sousuke was preoccupied as he moved through the mess hall line to get lunch. Kurz's response to Gauron's aggression the previous day was sympathetic, but he said that he could do nothing on his side. Not yet. As always, he was cagy with details. Before, when life at Jindai had been going well, Sousuke hadn't cared about whatever operation Kurz was a part of. But now, that his life may depend on him, Sousuke was starting to resent being kept in the dark.

Sousuke moved his tray down the line as two workers piled rice and beef curry, one of Kaname's specialties, onto the plates. Akane's smile as she handed Sousuke back his tray interrupted his thoughts. Ever since Kaname had taken over the kitchen, she only had frowns and glares for the young man. Sousuke was instantly suspicious.

As he ate, he kept an eye out for Gauron's movements. Maybe Gauron had let something slip to Akane about coming after Sousuke. That would, he thought, likely make her smile. He half expected the older man to come at him as he ate.

But nothing happened. Or so it seemed at the time.

Later that night, at the fires with Kyouko, Shinji, and Kaname, Sousuke shared his misgivings about anything that might be going on.

"Maybe she thought you were someone else?" tried Shinji. "Akane can be pretty friendly to people who aren't us."

Sousuke didn't answer. He disliked that he was so on edge that someone smiling at him put his defenses up so quickly.

"Maybe," said Kyouko, "But I have some news. I followed them today."

All faces snapped to the woman in braids. "What?" hissed Kaname.

"I wasn't seen. It'll be okay," she comforted, putting an arm around Kaname's shoulders. "And, really, I didn't see much. They're pretty fast and three miles in, I lost them for a little while around a corner."

"Where did they go?" asked Sousuke, his blood starting to pump adrenaline.

"Southeast," she said. "After ten or 15 minutes, I saw them all running back the way they had come, so I ducked into an alley. They ran right by me and they were all holding weapons they didn't start out with. Once they were gone, I took off to find where they had gone and I heard and engine. So I climbed up an awning and looked around until I saw a man on a small motorcycle driving away. If I didn't know better, I would guess he was driving toward the Basin. But that's dumb, right? You can't get by on the streets over there because they're all packed with cars."

"They were when we were there," confirmed Kaname.

"That was months ago," said Sousuke. Maybe there are some paths now, or ways we didn't see. I don't like it."

"Me neither," said Shinji with a shudder. "I mean, they can't be running drugs or prostitutes during the apocalypse, can they? So what in the world could they be doing?"

"I wish I knew, then I might know why they were here," said Sousuke, looking around for Gauron. He didn't see him, but noticed that the fires were not as well attended as they normally were. The nights were getting earlier, so maybe some people were going to bed when the sun went down, but it seemed unusual.

Then, he saw someone abruptly get up, lurch over to a metal trash bin, and vomit into it.

It was the start of a long, painful night.

No one slept. Either people were moaning at the cramping in their guts, or they were making their way to the toilets. Anyone not affected was trying to help soothe the sick by bringing them water and blankets whenever needed.

Kyouko seemed to be working the hardest. Dr. Yoshi was sick and was doing her best to instruct the nursing student on any medicines that might be created with the supplies they had to relieve people's pain.

When the morning's first rays of light stole away the nighttime's stars, most of the sick were finally still and sleeping. It was then that Sousuke realized their predicament.

Except for himself, Kaname, Shinji, and Kyouko, the only other people who weren't affected by the mysterious stomach bug were Gauron and all of the people who had recently been vocal about supporting him.

Sousuke knew at that moment that Gauron had poisoned everyone in the settlement that might be against him.

Akane picked that time to saunter by Sousuke and Kaname's cot. She put on a concerned face, her hand over a mouth posed with an O of surprise, "I wonder if there was something in that curry you made for lunch yesterday that made everyone sick?" she asked Kaname before smiling and walking to Gauron's side. "Maybe you shouldn't be in charge of the kitchen, after all."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Notes: My discussion of writing this chapter (as well as the others) can be found on DreamWidth or LiveJournal under the user name "starzki" and with the tag "the sickness." I appreciate any feedback that you would like to give. Thanks for reading!


	9. But It's Too Late to Say You're Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gauron has taken control of Jindai. Sousuke, Kaname, and their friends must deal with the consequences.

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

9\. But It's Too Late to Say You're Sorry

-z-

"Mrs. Watanabe, Ms. Tokiwa, get your things and come to the front gate," said Gauron with his arms crossed.

"Our things?" asked Kyouko.

"All of them," answered Gauron with a growl. His supporters gathered around behind him, glaring at Kaname and Kyouko.

"It's Chidori now," challenged Kaname before turning her back on the gathering crowd. She sounded confident, but her eyes were panicked when they found Sousuke's.

His mind was racing. It was all happening. Now that Gauron was making his play, Sousuke almost felt a strange sensation of a weight being lifted from his shoulders. Unfortunately, it was immediately replaced with a new one. Kaname would have to be out there, pregnant and among the infected when he wanted her behind high fences and safe. Inside or outside, both options were the things of nightmares. And it seemed one of them was no longer an option.

"We have to do what he says," said Sousuke loud enough for the crowd to hear. You could see a definite sigh of relief from all of Gauron's supporters. They had been afraid that one of their best fighters would challenge Gauron and them. It could have gotten ugly. They all began to move away. Gauron led the way to the front gates.

Sousuke began packing his and Kaname's things. Under his breath, he talked to Shinji. "I think we're about to be kicked out. I don't know how safe it's going to be here in the future for you, especially since you're friends with us. I think you have two options: join with Gauron or come with us. It'll be dangerous, but I think you should come with us."

Poor Shinji looked lost and on the verge of tears. Sousuke knew that it would be hard to leave everything that he'd built since he'd arrived at Jindai. He wouldn't blame him if he turned on them and tried to stay.

Suddenly, a look of determination crossed Shinji's face. Without words, he spun on his heels and began running across the compound.

"Sousuke?" asked Kaname. Her voice was small and frightened. He dropped everything and just embraced her as tightly as he could.

"We'll figure this out, I promise," he whispered.

"But the baby…"

"She'll be fine, too. At least now we won't be caged with him. Between Gauron and the infected, I think Gauron is far more dangerous to us. We'll make it. We'll find another settlement, or make one of our own if we have to."

Sousuke pulled away and saw something hard replace the vulnerability in her eyes. Her frown morphed from tremulous to determined. She nodded and began packing her things.

-z-

Ten minutes later, Sousuke, Kaname, and Kyouko met Gauron at the front gates.

Gauron puffed out his chest and began pacing regally, performing for his audience of supporters.

"Kyouko Tokiwa, you broke protocol when you brought a child into Jindai two weeks ago without properly checking if he was infected. You could have spread the infection to everyone in Jindai!" The crowd all gave eager nods in agreement.

"That five-year-old that you and your friends completely ignored, you mean?" challenged Kyouko. "Little Ren? He didn't have a bite on him and I brought him directly to Dr. Yoshi." There were some surprised looks from the crowd. Apparently Gauron hadn't shared the full story with them.

"Well… Dr. Yoshi isn't exactly here to back that story up, is she? Right, Mrs. Watanabe—I mean Ms. Chidori? Most of the compound is sick with food poisoning on your watch, isn't that right?"

Kaname straightened her back in indignation. "You and I both know that I had nothing to do with anyone getting sick."

"Do I know that? I don't think I do." Akane sidled up to Gauron and smirked at Kaname. Realizing that his audience was starting to exchange whispers, Gauron got to his point. "For putting this settlement in danger, Kyouko Tokiwa and Kaname Chidori are hereby banished. And I expect Sousuke will be going with them, yes?"

Half the crowd was nodding, but the other half was suddenly uncomfortable. There were some protests.

"But she's pregnant…"

"Little Ren was fine…"

"…infected horde is on its way…"

"…one of our best runners. We need him…"

"We can't let anyone endanger the people of Jindai!" bellowed Gauron over the murmurs. "Anyone who does cannot remain here! And anyone who allies with these people will be labeled as traitors and be asked to join them!"

The crowd was shocked into silence.

With the quiet came the sound of running footsteps. Shinji, out of breath and carrying his pack joined Sousuke and Kaname and Kyouko. "I guess I'm with them, then," he wheezed.

Sousuke spoke up. "We want our weapons. The next wave of infected is due here within the hour and you can't send us out with less than we came with."

Gauron grinned. "Of course. We can't spare any guns, but you can take two weapons. Two," he moved to the weapons shed and opened it. Sousuke grabbed Kaname's softball bat and gave it to Kyouko and took his baton for himself.

"We should get weapons, too," said Shinji.

"I don't have to give you shit. Two of you have betrayed Jindai, so you only get two. And since I'm so nice, I'll tell you that our surveillance says that the road to the north is completely clear. I suggest you head that way." With that, he made his way to the button that controlled the gate.

The crowd moved away, some of them seemingly beginning to question their faith in their new leader but realizing there was nothing they could do about it then.

-z-

The gate rattled to a close behind them and Sousuke and Kyouko both surveyed the street outside, looking for infected. One was roughly fifty meters away to the north, but it hadn't noticed them yet. The road to the south seemed clear, but Sousuke could definitely hear the distinctive moans of undead coming from that direction. It was the calm before the storm, Sousuke thought. Soon, as predicted, the streets would be swarming shoulder to shoulder with wandering infected bumping into one another and eating any living thing they could find.

"What's the plan?" asked Kyouko in a whisper so that the infected to the north would continue to ignore them. "Gauron said that the north is clear and I think he might be right, but I don't trust him."

"We go south. For now at least," Sousuke said. "Shinji, Kaname, are you going to be okay?"

"I have asthma, so I'm not the best runner. But I did swipe an inhaler from the medical tent on my way here." Shinji patted his pocket.

"I'm used to being on my feet all day, but I don't think I'll be much of a runner, either," added Kaname.

"That's fine. Kyouko and I will take point. We're used to it. Follow our instructions and we should do okay. Be on the lookout for infected and any safe houses. We may need to find a place to hole up for a couple of days if this swarm catches up with us.

The four began their journey south. Sousuke looked up to see Gauron frowning at them from the top of the fence scaffolding. He then pulled out a walkie talkie, spoke into it, and disappeared from sight.

Sousuke led the way to the storage shed. They only encountered one infected on the way and Kyouko dispatched with her usual ease. The three gathered around Sousuke as he emptied the shed. Since Gauron had come to the settlement, Sousuke had redoubled his efforts to build up his cache. He'd found an extra gun that he didn't bring back to the settlement, a .38 Special and extra ammo for that and his Glock. Additionally, he had found a second bicycle and replaced its chain to make it functional.

They divided up the weapons and supplies. Kaname was given her bat and Kyouko took the revolver and its ammo as well as a machete. Shinji grabbed a crowbar and Sousuke gave him one of the bikes while he tucked his Glock into his waistband. He gave out a few flashlights and the food rations he had collected. He was just reaching for the walkie talkie when it squawked to life.

"Sagara, come in… Come in Sagara."

Sousuke pressed the button, surprised that Kurz was dropping the code-talking pretense. "Sagara here. What's the matter?"

"Oh, thank God," Kurz answered. "We need you and your Angel to come meet up with us. This is not negotiable."

"Why?" asked Sousuke, not liking the urgency in Kurz's voice.

"She's very special, more special than you can know. We need to protect her. They're coming for her."

"What?" asked Sousuke, uncomprehending.

"No time to explain now. Get here and we'll tell you everything."

"Gauron kicked us out of Jindai. We have two friends with us who need help, too. How do we get to you?"

"Kicked you out? Those fuckers are probably trying to herd you to Amalgam."

"Amalgam?"

"Never mind that for now. We'll send out a chopper for you and your Angel."

"And our friends?"

"This isn't charity, we can't take in strays…"

Kaname grabbed the device from Sousuke's grip. "They come or I'm not going with you. Got it, Kurz?"

There was a pause before sound began issuing from the walkie talkie again. "Fine. You drive a hard bargain, Angel. Do you know where the Metropolitan Hospital is?"

Sousuke took the walkie talkie back. "It's about four kilometers away to the south of us. But there's a swarm of infected between here and there. North might be better…"

"Fuck north," Kurz said. "We'd get you any direction but there and Met Hospital is the closest place with a helipad to your location. We'll be there in an hour. If you're not there, I'll come looking for you. I'll keep this walkie on me and talk you through any situations we can help you with. Get to the Met ASAP. Over and out."

"We'll see you there. Over and out," said Sousuke.

"Do you trust him?" Shinji asked. "What does he mean that people are after Kaname?"

"I'm not sure," said Sousuke. "But I trust him."

"I do, too. I just wish he could explain more," said Kaname. "What's Amalgam? I've never heard of it."

The foursome took a moment to shake their heads at the new information. Their reverie was interrupted by the moans of infected that sounded startlingly close. "We should make our way to the hospital, then," said Kyouko. "I don't think that this will be much fun."

-z-

Kaname and Shinji biked as well as they could following Sousuke and Kyouko as they ran a little ahead to check for infected. Kaname struggled with balance and wobbling, unused to riding a bike while that pregnant. Shinji's bike made weird clicking and creaking sounds. Sousuke had fixed it as well as he could, but the months without maintenance had definitely taken its toll on the ten speed.

As it was, they didn't get more than four hundred meters, taking mainly side streets that held less infected that the wider avenues, before they had to abandon their plan of taking surface streets to the hospital.

Sousuke found a fence that he could climb up to an apartment's outside balcony. He pulled himself up and surveyed the streets and felt his stomach drop to his feet. A swarm of infected was an understatement. The streets ahead were clogged with abandoned cars, and with slithering, decaying flesh working its way toward them.

"It's no good!" Sousuke shouted as he turned to make his way back down from his vantage point. "They're coming from the south and the east. There's not getting through that safely. Our only choice is west, though the alleys."

"But the hospital is southeast," said Shinji.

Sousuke nodded. "We'll have to find a detour. All I can see this infected. They're getting closer."

"I know a way," said Kyouko. "If we ditch the bikes and make our way west, then south, there's a subway Red Line stop. Red Line goes to the Met. It might work?"

Sousuke nodded along with the others about this plan. He hadn't been on the subway since well before the world had ended. He didn't know how congested the underground train's tunnels were, but anything had to be better than the streets. Infected also tended to horde together, so if most were aboveground, others would follow them there, right?

"Let's do it," said Sousuke.

Shinji and Kaname ditched their bikes and the four made their way to the alley. There were five infected, but none had noticed their group. Using hand signals to communicate, Kyouko and Sousuke took out three of them before the other two noticed. Kaname rushed, one hand under her belly, the other raising her bat, and nearly took the head off of the fourth with one strong swing.

Shinji didn't rush the fifth, but avoided it and stayed out of Sousuke's way when he rushed to help, crushing the thing's skull with a wet crack.

"Sorry," whispered Shinji. "I'm not really a fighter."

"It's fine," said Sousuke softly. "Just stay alive. That's all you need to do."

Sousuke again joined Kyouko toward the front of the group, some space between them. He was looking ahead and to the right, Kyouko was scanning the left, while Kaname and Shinji watched the road behind them. It was quickly filling with infected who had heard the scuffle. A dozen of them easily, but their lurching shuffle wasn't quite fast enough to catch the slow-moving group of survivors.

Every block felt like it took an eternity and the infected became ever more numerous. Even though they all tread as quietly and as quickly as possible, the infected became aware of their presence. Sousuke switched the baton to his left hand and pulled out his Glock. No need to make a lot of noise, but he wanted to be ready if needed.

Sousuke was glad that Kyouko was an experienced runner and that they'd worked so often together in the past few months. She knew what he wanted her to do, what she needed to do, before he even asked.

"Two on the left," whispered Shinji. Kyouko sped up and buried her machete in the skull of the first one while kicking at the second one who made a grab at her before she could pull her weapon free. As that one stumbled backward, she twirled around, weapon extended, and sliced through its neck. With a final spin, Kyouko brought the back of the machete down onto the severed head with a dull, cracking thud.

"Whoa," breathed Kaname.

Kyouko only grinned. "I may be showing off a bit," she said.

"How close are we to the subway stop?" asked Shinji.

"About a block and a half," Kyouko answered. "I used to live in this neighborhood and I can get us there through these alleys, but they're getting even thicker with these things."

"Well, we're not sneaking up on anything any more," said Sousuke. "Whenever we make a turn, fire your gun and thin them out in front of us. Kaname take out any that come at you. Shinji, call out anything we don't see."

At the next corner, they put their plan into action. The gunfire alerted the infected to the bend of the alley, but not the place where the group was going. Sousuke took out the infected closest to the center of the road any those who might make it to that area there by the time they made their way through. Kyouko focused more laterally to any infected hiding in between the buildings they didn't see until they came up close to them.

Kaname grunted, pushing away any infected that looked off balance, then breaking skulls and spilling brains whenever she could manage a full swing.

"Guys, they're gathered on that balcony up ahead. I think they're going to fall. Some may survive the fall, so watch our one-o'clock," said Shinji.

They moved, stepping over bodies, and giving as much berth as they could to open courtyards and ungated areas between buildings. Sousuke felt the sweat running down his spine and missed the cool spring days that started this apocalypse. The heat made the smell worse, too. Minutes that felt like hours later, they closed in on the entry to the street.

Kyouko got there a split second before Sousuke did and just gasped. He caught up and saw what she saw and despaired. The street was teeming with infected shamblers.

"Shit."

"We'll have to run," said Kaname. "Sousuke and Kyouko, shoot the ones between us and the subway entrance." She gestured to the sign marking the stairway going into Western City's underground. It was only thirty meters away, but there must have been over a dozen infected in the way.

Sousuke reloaded his gun. "Can you run, Kaname?"

"I'll do what I have to. You going to be okay, Shinji?"

"Yeah. Hold on, though. I have an idea."

"We don't really have time to hold on," said Sousuke.

"Then just cover me and run down those stairs." Sousuke and Kyouko exchanged confused looks and trained their weapons on the infected and began shooting. Shinji edged behind them and began running down the street off to the right swinging his crowbar wildly at an infected grabbing at him from behind a mail box. He only made connection to its shoulder, but it was enough to knock it back.

"What is he doing?" gasped Kaname.

"Just cover him," hissed Kyouko to Sousuke. I have these. Reloading."

They were running toward the subway entrance, Sousuke lagging to make sure that Kaname was keeping up and remained unhurt. She wasn't as fast as she was just a few months before. In fact, her face was an alarming shade of red, but she was keeping up.

Sousuke checked the stairs, saw they were clear and ushered her to go down them, then looked around for Shinji. He saw the smaller man dodge one infected while Kyouko shot down another right behind him. He then came up to one of the cars in the street and checked the handle. It was open. After a brief look in the front and back seats, Shinji climbed inside and got incredibly lucky.

Sousuke heard the engine roar to life and began to understand what Shinji was doing. "Come on," he told Kyouko. "Down the stairs!"

The three went half way down and listened to Shinji working the car free from the jam. There was the sound of crunching metal and suddenly the tires were squealing. The unmistakable sound of a car jumping a curb and then rushing down a sidewalk (and encountering at least two infected from the sound of the thumping against a car hood) had them all ducking. At the last minute, the tires squealed again and all of them could see the side of the car swiping hard and crashing into the entrance of the stairway. Shinji had crashed the car so that it blocked the stairs, but allowed him to climb over the seat and out of the side door.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Kyouko.

Shinji caught up to them on the stairs holding a bottle with a rag stuffed in the neck that reeked of gasoline. "It's a Molotov cocktail. I found it in the car."

"What did you do?" asked Sousuke.

"We made so much noise up there that the infected would have followed us down here. They're not great climbers, so not many will come after us now. And if they get over that car, they'll probably take a bad tumble down these stairs and hopefully crack their heads open on the way down. At least now I'm pulling my weight."

"You got so lucky, Shinji. Maybe don't go off on your own without telling us like that again," said Kyouko. "We like you and want you to stick with us and you don't have anything to prove to us."

Shinji colored. "What time is it?" he finally asked. "And how far are we away from the hospital?"

Sousuke checked his watch and blanched. It had only been ten minutes. "We have 50 minutes until we meet and we're even further from the Met with the backtracking we've had to do. Maybe five kilometers?"

"It'll be shorter going through these tunnels," said Kyouko. "These will take us directly there."

The four looked into the dark gloom of the subway tunnels and wondered what they held in store.

-z-

Things went well at first. It seemed that Sousuke was right and that the horde stuck together on the surface of the city. It also seemed that not many commuters had been caught by the apocalypse until after they had exited the subway.

Sousuke and the rest shined their flashlights, sweeping light over the walls and tracks of the underground. They made it two stops where they didn't see anything but surprisingly large rats. This was a good sign, they told one another, because the infected would have cleared anything alive out of this area if they had been there.

Sousuke felt himself breathing easy since they'd left the relative safety of Jindai. However, he kept his face serious and encouraged everyone to stay on their toes. He didn't like the dark and everything already smelled bad in the subway, so it would be hard to tell if infected were around them.

After another subway stop, they ran into a problem.

"Next stop is the hospital!" said Kyouko. "And we're ahead of time!" Shinji groaned next to her, not liking how vocally she was tempting fate. And at the next bend, there was indeed a problem.

The subway train was stopped on the tracks. There was not enough room for them to comfortably walk around it, the tunnel was too narrow. Worse than that, though, was that there were infected on the train.

The bit of luck that they did have was that the train was locked up tight.

"So what should we do?" asked Kaname. "We can go back to the last stop and take the surface streets?"

"They'll be packed…" warned Shinji.

Sousuke studied the train and noticed a ladder on the back of the last car. "Or we can go over."

"Is that a good idea? The infected? They'll hear us."

Shinji shined his flashlight on the Molotov cocktail that he was still holding. "Maybe this will come in handy? I have a lighter."

"This might work. Kaname? How are you doing? Do you think you can do that?"

Kaname was considering the ladder, then the track back to the last stop. She frowned and bit her lip. "I won't lie. I'm really tired. But I can survive being tired. Me and the nugget can do this. I think that going over the top will work best for me. But I'm looking forward to this helicopter coming so that I can just sit back and relax for a while."

"It's decided," said Sousuke.

They climbed up the ladder. Kyouko led, followed by Shinji, then Kaname, then Sousuke in the rear. The infected on the train definitely noticed the noise. They slapped and hit at the rear window whenever they heard noise on the ladder. Sousuke could also see them tracking movement from Kyouko and Shinji on the roof of the car.

On top of the car, Sousuke was glad that there was plenty of room to crawl, but was discouraged that there wasn't enough room to stand or walk. The dark of the tunnel and the knowledge that the walls and ceiling were so close made Sousuke feel a touch of claustrophobia. His breathing came slightly shorter and he hoped that the tunnel would open up to a platform soon.

The cars weren't very long, but the gap between them was substantial. This space consisted of bendable metal that allowed passengers to move between cars safe from the elements, but also allowed the train to bend around curves. They had to balance on the unstable structure briefly until they half jumped, half shimmied to the next car.

The train was six cars long and the last car had just been pulling into the platform when the power died in the subway. Kyouko and Shinji slid on their bellies, hanging off the side of the car before gravity took over and pulled them onto the platform.

"You two need to hurry up," Kyouko informed Sousuke. "They're mad and they're working at the doors."

Sousuke could already hear them. They were mindless, but their attack on the doors was measured, rhythmic, and he could hear the gears that opened and shut the doors squeaking under their onslaught.

"Help her down." Kaname held onto Sousuke as she lowered down her legs. Kyouko and Shinji stood underneath her, guiding her and ready to catch her.

"Careful…"

"We got her…"

Sousuke wanted to go slower, but the doors were giving way. His biceps protested at the strain, but he lowered the only person in the world he loved as carefully and smoothly as he could. The load lightened when her weight shifted from him to her friends below. Then she was out of his grasp and had her feet firmly and gently placed on the platform.

Sousuke breathed a small breath of thankfulness that it had gone well, then slid of the car, himself.

He joined the others inching away from the infected on the cars as the doors flapped open and closed with longer and longer spaces between opened and closed. Finally, the door opened and least fifty infected passengers tried to get out and at the foursome.

Shinji was ready. The Molotov was lit and he handed it to Sousuke. "Do it," he said.

Sousuke threw the bottle not at the infected, but at the floor of the open subway car. It shattered, spread flaming gasoline, and lit all of the nearby infected on fire immediately.

"Let's go!"

The four turned to go up the stairs back into the sunlight. While no infected were on the stairs, they could see four waiting for them at the top.

Sousuke used his Glock on all of them and they ran up the stairs to be met with easily one hundred infected milling around the entrance to the hospital.

-z-

It was an impossible situation. Flaming infected were coming at the group from behind them (albeit slowly) on the stairs and over a hundred infected were just beginning to notice the commotion coming from the subway.

They didn't have enough bullets, Sousuke thought. They didn't have enough time to spend on each one. They were going to be overrun. They were going to die. Soon.

The subway opened up to the front entrance of the hospital entrance. They were about thirty meters from the doors with a small amount of parking lot as well as a circle drive for people to drop off patients near the doorway.

Sousuke heard Kaname growl next to him. Similarly, Kyouko and Shinji were readying themselves. If nothing else, he decided they were going to go down fighting. And they were going to take as many infected as they could with them.

Sousuke shouted at Kyouko. "Aim for the closest!"

She had her gun ready and began shooting. Sousuke emptied his clip into the closest ten infected toward the right while Kyouko felled the four closest to the left using all of her gun's six bullets. If only there was enough time.

Sousuke reloaded while Shinji bravely attempted to take down another lurching forward, but only managed to knock it down. Sousuke blocked Kaname from going forward into the fray with his body. He wasn't about to risk her safety here, so close to a rescue for her.

Sousuke reloaded first and inched the group forward. He killed seven of the nearest infected with his whole clip. Kyouko started shooting once again, killing five more. More and more kept coming, crowding closer.

"I'm out of ammo!" yelled Kyouko. She readied her machete.

Sousuke was getting light on ammunition himself.

"Keep pressing forward," urged Sousuke. Salvation probably didn't exist behind those doors, Sousuke wasn't stupid, but at least they could put wall at their back and stand a little more of a chance.

Sousuke brought down almost two dozen more infected before his gun's clicking noise announced the end of his ammo. He took a deep breath and readied his baton. Even if he was going to get bitten, die, and turn, Kaname and her little one were going to make it. They were his and he would do anything to protect them. He was ready.

From his right, Sousuke heard the squealing of tires. The foursome froze; the infected turned their attentions to the new noise. Everything stilled for a moment.

Then, that stillness crashed around them. Literally.

A white van came careening down the hospital drive and toward the drop-off circle. The driver swerved right and left, running down as many infected as possible. He expertly made his way up and over curbs and medians to get close to the survivor group and strike down the infected who were most threatening.

The driver made several passes before the path for the group to the hospital was relatively clear. The ground around them was littered with bloody body parts and red tire tracks. The van stopped and parked in front of the hospital doors.

The driver hopped out and flashed the incoming group a white smile. "Thought you guys could use some help!"

"Thanks so much," said Kyouko. "I thought we were dead, for sure."

The driver was a slight man with a lot of swagger. He was dressed in black jeans and a black jacket with a large black hooded sweatshirt drawn up over a baseball cap on his head. "I couldn't let that happen. But we don't have much time. You need in?"

Sousuke, though grateful for the rescue, had a hard time trusting the man. It was too hot out for a sweatshirt and jacket. It wasn't even September. "Yes, we're meeting friends on the roof. What are you doing here?"

The man worked on getting the automatic doors to start sliding open. Shinji and Kyouko went to help them. Kaname hung out behind Sousuke, similarly distrustful.

"Settlement needs meds. I'm scavenging."

"This place is probably overrun…" said Kyouko. "Most people first started coming to the hospital when this all started."

"We're pretty desperate. I guess you all are, too." The stranger motioned at Kaname.

They worked the doors open. Quiet moaning could be heard within. There were definitely infected inside.

"I'll help you up. We need to stick together for a little while. I'll get to the upper levels to get at the meds, you get to the staircase that will take you to the roof."

"Fine," Sousuke said.

The stranger had a twinkle of charm in his gray eyes as he moved inside of the hospital and flourished a wheelchair. "For the lady…"

It was a good idea, Sousuke thought. Kaname had been on her feet enough. And they needed to get going.

"How are we going to get up to the roof?" asked Shinji. "This hospital is at least 15 floors and the power's out."

At that moment, the lights came on.

The stranger flashed another smile. "I'm not here alone. Friends of mine were working on the generator."

Sousuke couldn't help his skeptical look. The man regarded him and held up his hands. "Hey. Like I said, the meds are on the top floors. If I had to climb all these floors myself, I'd be in too long and dead before I know it. I know some guys who are good with electronics." With that, the stranger glanced at Shinji.

The moment was broken by an unearthly moan a little further into the hospital's entrance.

"We've got the auxiliary power on, which includes the elevators at the back." The man produced an axe and advanced into the hospital. Kyouko, Shinji, and Sousuke, pushing Kaname, followed.

The downstairs of the hospital had maybe twenty infected, but the stranger was good with his axe. Its shape helped. It didn't get stuck in skulls and the blunt edge was just as deadly as the sharp. Old blood and brains spattered the floor wherever he went.

Kyouko did well, herself. Between them (plus the one Shinji took out), they cleared the way to the elevators.

The man punched the up arrow at the elevator bank on the back wall. "It won't be long, I'm sure."

"What's your name?" asked Shinji.

The man flashed another wide, white smile. "Leonard. I'm very pleased to meet all of you."

The elevator still had enough juice to ding. Sousuke noticed that the displays for the other elevators were still dark. "Is only this elevator working?" he asked.

Leonard put on a confused face. "Not sure."

The five moved into the elevator.

Leonard punched the top floor. "This floor will get you to the roof."

"You're pretty sure about that," said Shinji.

"Maybe I've been here before. Anyway, it makes sense. Go as high as you can, then the staircase will take you the rest of the way."

The floors dinged by. Sousuke felt more and more uncomfortable. Just then, Sousuke's walkie talkie buzzed to life.

"Sagara! Come in!"

Sousuke looked around, wondering if he should answer in front of the stranger. He answered anyway. "Go ahead."

"ETA in five. Hostiles in the area. Trust no one!" Kaname gasped.

Sousuke didn't answer, but looked at the stranger who had saved them. Leonard was still grinning then he looked down to his left hand. In it, he held a syringe poised at Kaname's neck. Sousuke's back teeth ground together.

They arrived at the top floor. Oblivious, Kyouko and Shinji got off the elevator. Sousuke and Leonard stood at a stalemate.

"Don't do it…" warned Leonard. He then pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at Kaname's head. She gripped the arms of the wheelchair so tightly Sousuke could see her fingers turning white.

Sousuke was torn. He knew, he knew, Leonard was bluffing. But he still couldn't take the chance. Sousuke slowly backed off of the elevator. "Kaname…" Sousuke started.

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her," Leonard smirked, then plunged the needle into Kaname's neck.

"Sou—" was all she managed before falling unconscious.

"Kaname!" yelled Kyouko, raising her machete and running at Leonard.

"No!" Sousuke yelled, afraid Leonard would hurt Kaname.

Instead, Leonard turned the gun on Kyouko and pulled the trigger.

Kyouko crumpled to the floor as the door to the elevator doors slid shut.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: *wince* Sorry about the heinous cliffhanger, y'all, but it's a necessary evil. I'll be writing the next chapter as soon as possible. I'd love to hear what you think!


	10. Here You Are, Down on Your Knees Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaname has been kidnapped. Kyouko has been shot. Sousuke and Shinji must find a way out, find answers, and find Kaname.

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

10\. Here You Are Down On Your Knees Again

-z-

Sousuke felt like he was underwater. Everything was muffled, muted, almost, after gunshot's echoes ceased ringing down the hall. Things moved slowly and time nearly stopped.

He lunged toward the elevator call button, mashing the down arrow as hard as he could. As before, only the one elevator seemed to have power. Leonard was taking Kaname away and every second meant more and more distance he'd have to cover to catch up to them.

Sousuke spun wildly, searching in the dim light for the stairs.

"Sousuke, Kyouko's dying!" shouted Shinji. He had dug through his pack and was pressing a wadded shirt into the wound in Kyouko's belly. The light gray shirt was already dyed a dark crimson with the unconscious girl's blood. "We need to help her!"

Sousuke's mind raced too fast for him to catch up. There was no way he was going to lose Kaname. Kyouko was his friend and would find a way to help her, too, but Kaname was his first priority. Protecting her had been his mission for years and he wasn't going to let her down, now.

Maybe twenty seconds after the elevator doors had shut, the power went off.

Sousuke howled in frustration, mashing the elevator button again. Of course they wouldn't let Sousuke follow them that way. Unless Sousuke literally jumped down all fifteen floors, there was no way he could catch up.

Shinji wiped at the tears running down his nose as he gazed up at Sousuke, waiting.

Sousuke took a deep breath. Recalling it later, memories of the next five minutes only existed in brief flashes in Sousuke's mind.

…Working with Shinji to fashion a bandage around Kyouko to close and stabilize her wound…

…Finding the stairs to the roof and killing two infected in their path…

…Hearing the rhythmic beats of helicopter blades as he pushed through the door to the roof…

…Clearing the way through a pack of half a dozen infected for Shinji as he carried Kyouko toward the helicopter…

…Buckling his seatbelt on the chopper as Kurz shouted expletives after being told that Kaname was taken and Kyouko had been shot…

…The feeling of being both so light and heavy at the same time. The chopper dipped and weaved through the city as Sousuke forced himself to face his failure…

-z-

The helicopter brought them west, toward the ocean. In fact, the chopper flew about a mile over the water before it began to descend and Sousuke realized that they were being brought to a very large submarine.

"What's this?" Sousuke asked into the microphone that was a part of the helmet Melissa Mao had given him. She was currently doing what she could to help the medic with Kyouko, so Kurz answered.

"Home sweet home." Kurz manipulated the stick and pedals to land them softly and safely on the deck of the sub. They were immediately met with at least six men and women with a stretcher and dressed in a kind of military garb that Sousuke didn't recognize.

"Is she bit?"

"Where's the pregnant one?"

"What's going on, here?"

"Was it Amalgam?"

They all had questions, but Melissa took charge.

"Female, approximately 20 years old with a GSW to the left abdomen. Take her to sick bay fucking yesterday and have the doc work on her. No one's been bit."

"I'm going with her," Shinji said as he jumped from the plane and followed the crowd taking care of Kyouko.

Kurz met Melissa's exasperated expression and they both turned to Sousuke.

"What happened?" Melissa asked.

Sousuke stepped off the chopper and crossed his arms in front of him. "I think you need to answer some of my questions now."

-z-

Sousuke paced the small room he'd been led to. He kept bumping into the desk and two chairs in his distracted state. There were about eight separate things he needed to do and he felt like he was just wasting his time while Kaname got further and further away from him. He played those last minutes in the hospital again in his head, trying to find the way out he should have taken.

Some minutes later, the door creaked open. On the other side was a petite young woman, about Sousuke's age, with long, platinum blond hair and gray eyes. She looked too much like Leonard and that immediately put Sousuke on guard. She was accompanied by a soldier who was reading off of a clipboard about the current state of the electrical grid in Western City as far as Sousuke could tell.

Once he was done reading, the young woman nodded curtly and said, "Thank you Lieutenant." The man saluted her, turned on his heel, and disappeared from Sousuke's view.

"Are you in charge here?" Sousuke demanded to know.

"Yes, Mr. Sagara. My name is Teletha Testarossa and I'm the captain of this submarine. You may call me Tessa."

Sousuke felt his forehead crease in disbelief, but moved on. "Someone needs to answer my questions. What is going on? Who are you people?"

Tessa gestured to one of the chairs. "Please sit. I will answer every question I can."

Sousuke hesitated, then sat, folding his arms across his chest.

"I'll start at the beginning," Tessa said softly once she took her seat across the table. She took a short breath, opened her mouth, then seemed to reconsider. Finally, a wry smile set on her mouth and she said, "This all started because people wanted to save the world."

Sousuke knew Tessa was somewhat amused at the irony, and maybe he would have been too, at any other time, but he just waited.

"Decades ago, there were four men, all brilliant, who had known each other since childhood. They saw the ills of our world and made a pact to change them in any way they could. We know them now as the Four Horsemen."

"How is this relevant?" Sousuke asked.

"You'll see. Each young man vowed to work to save our world. One looked to finding a way to bring peace to all nations. Another looked to advancing technology in food production, storage, transportation, and low-cost distribution. The third wanted to rid the world of disease. The last wanted to extend human beings' lifespans."

Sousuke snorted. "I get it. War, famine, pestilence, death. Four Horsemen. Clever."

Tessa pursed her lips, then continued. "As I said, they were all brilliant. They led their fields and gathered other geniuses to help them work on their issues, often outside of their regular jobs."

"So it was a kind of hobby? Saving the world?"

"Yes, at first. War and Famine worked closely together because they were looking at global patterns and politics between countries. Pestilence and Death worked together because they were focused on individuals. While no one has called it a secret campaign, they also didn't advertise their extracurricular activities. And really, at first, it only seemed to be thought exercises. How can we cure cancer? What kinds of politicians need to be in place to broker peace in the Middle East? The best minds from around the world were asked to answer these questions."

"Hmm."

"The thing was, though, after years and years, they started gaining traction in finding answers. They were convinced that they could save the world and people with a lot of money and power believed them. Each group formed an organization in order to procure funding from different countries. One organization was Mithril, which was set up to be the world's peacekeeper and to fight for basic human needs for everyone. The other was Amalgam, which was set to cure humanity of death and disease."

Sousuke stiffened at the mention of Amalgam. "Wait. Kurz said something about Amalgam earlier today. They're the ones who have Kaname, right? What do they want with her?" Sousuke started to get out of his chair.

"We think so, but wait a moment. I'm not done with the story." Sousuke settled back into the chair, but now he was eagerly listening. "Many years went by. The Four Horsemen all grew old and died, but their legacies lived on in Mithril and Amalgam. Mithril gathered a peace-keeping army that has helped countries fight despots and sent aid to countries struggling to keep up in the global economy. Amalgam worked at a cellular level to find a way to repair damaged cells within the body. Both groups actually did some good."

"And let me guess: you're Mithril?"

Tessa nodded. "About twenty years ago, there was a rift that formed between Mithril and Amalgam. There was a brilliant scientist recruited by Amalgam. We only know her as Sophia. She insisted that Amalgam was approaching their questions in the wrong way. She was able to develop protein-based nanotechnology that could be introduced into the body and essentially reprogram problem cells into normal cells. Once you can do that, disease will disappear and life spans can go on for years and years longer."

"So, they were doing good work?" Sousuke asked, confused.

"Well, it's hard to say. Most of Sophia's work was theoretical. She died in an accident at an early age. She left a few samples and all of her research, but it was so complex and tapped into so many different areas of expertise that overlapped and almost tangled together, that only a few minds are able to understand her work at even a basic level. However, based on her early work, governments and pharmaceutical companies, those funding Amalgam, were pushing for more and more experimentation. Mithril was against this. As a result, Amalgam cut off all ties and all communication with Mithril. And since then, they've gotten more and more unethical when it comes to testing their theories."

Sousuke felt something shift in his mind. "Ah. I think I see where this is going. Some time, not too long ago, there was an experiment that resulted in dead bodies walking around, trying to eat each other."

Tessa frowned, but nodded. "Yes. Kind of. The infection kills almost all the cells in the body, but remains active. It doesn't work that well on the neurological system though. Motor and auditory functions are mostly intact. We're not sure if this is an accident or by design. Its main goal is to reproduce and does so by introducing infection into the bloodstream of uninfected people."

"So remind me again what this has to do with Kaname."

"The Accident, which is what Amalgam calls it, happened five years ago. Since then, not wanting to scrap the entire project, they began work on creating an antidote. Basically, they were trying to develop something to combat the nanotechnology introduced into infected people. It wouldn't save those who are dead, but it would let them rest in peace. But it should - it could save those who had been recently infected and prevent infection if introduced into the body before a bite."

"Again, where does Kaname come into this?"

Tessa's mouth set in a grim line. Then she sighed. "We have found some of their data. I've seen the research. From what I can tell, the antidote they've come up with should work against the infection. But it doesn't. There's something about our immune system that renders it useless. So they theorized that their antidote might have more success in developing in fetal tissue."

"Wait, what?"

"Kaname's doctor, Dr. Ishii, was Amalgam."

-z-

Sousuke's hands were trembling. He kept making fists. How dare a doctor conduct experiments on pregnant women without asking them. How dare he do that to Kaname.

Sousuke put his head between his knees and breathed slowly. Tessa waited for him to calm down. When he finally sat back up, she continued.

"Something happened. The original vector mutated so that infection and death occurred almost right away. The other safeguards in place failed. Almost all scientists in Amalgam were lost in the initial outbreak. Pandemonium."

"The end of the world."

"After months, Amalgam summoned what powers they could to look for their antidote. This included... the criminal element. They found Kaname's name in Dr. Ishii's research, though it seems she reverted to her maiden name in more recent months, so no one could find her."

Sousuke let out another long breath. He wanted to punch something. Someone. He had two main candidates in mind. "Gauron. He saw her married name on her prenatal vitamins."

Tessa gasped. Then she shook her head vigorously. "Those weren't vitamins, Mr. Sagara. Those were the antidote that she was to introduce to her fetus every day."

Sousuke bit down in the bile he felt rising. "And Gauron tried to herd us to Amalgam. Why not just take us there himself?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe he likes where he is?"

Sousuke nodded slowly. "So you know where Amalgam is?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Then why am I here?"

"We were hoping to protect Kaname…"

"And get the antidote yourself?"

"No, Mr. Sagara. Amalgam has now aligned itself with very dangerous people. We're afraid that they'll abuse the antidote. They'll sell it for power, enslave anyone they can. They cannot be trusted."

"And you can?"

"I think so. Yes. We've been working in the city to keep enough energy going to ensure that the water stays on for all the survivors. We help where we can, keep some peace, take out infected. We want to end this catastrophe."

"You still want to save the world?"

"Yes," Tessa's back became very straight. "And we'll start with Kaname and her baby. Chances are that the antidote still didn't work, but we owe it to her now."

Sousuke sat back. "So now all we have to do is find Amalgam."

-z-

Tessa walked in front of Sousuke down the narrow hallway of the submarine. He'd asked to be taken to his friends. She showed him the waiting area of sick bay where Shinji sat, looking miserable.

"How is she doing?" Sousuke asked gently.

Shinji frowned and shook his head. "Don't know yet."

"Our doctors are excellent. She's in good hands," said Tessa before introducing herself to Shinji. Then she walked over to the wall that connected to the operating room and pressed a button. "Can we get an update, Doctor?"

Tessa pressed another button and over the static they heard, "Yes, Captain. Patient is in serious condition, but she'll pull through. Just closing up now."

Tessa smiled and nodded at the two before leaving.

Sousuke watched as Shinji deflated in front of them, practically melting off the chair in which he sat. Then he looked up at Sousuke with a small, relieved smile.

Shinji righted himself in his chair while Sousuke sat next to him. "So, Sousuke," he said. "What did you learn?"

-z-

Shinji's mouth still hung open after Sousuke finished the details of the Four Horsemen, Mithril and Amalgam, and the infection and what Kaname had to do with it. His eyes were darting around, but unseeing as he processed the information.

"So, wait. Gauron was working for Amalgam?"

"Yes."

"And they set us up. They tried to steer us into Amalgam's hands earlier today?"

"It seems so."

"So that would mean that Gauron is communicating with Amalgam some way, right?"

Something pinged in Sousuke's head. "Yes! If we can figure out how they're communicating, we may be able to intercept their messages and find out where they're keeping Kaname!" But then Sousuke felt the wind go out of his sails. "But I'm sure Mithril would be on the lookout for radio communication."

"I know," said Shinji, jumping to his feet. He began running down the corridor with Sousuke right behind him. "We have to find the captain! Or someone with a computer! I know how they're communicating and I can get us in!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! See? Kyouko's all right! I know this chapter was an info dump, but I figure having some kind of reason or explanation for ending the world was in order and I enjoyed thinking about it. I hope you enjoyed reading it!


	11. It's the Moment of Truth and the Moment to Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke fights to rescue Kaname from Amalgam.

Author's Note: I have the technology for this universe similar to that of ours at the beginning of the 1990s. People kind of know about the internet, but there's not a widespread understanding and use of computers.

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

11\. It's the Moment of Truth, and the Moment to Lie

-z-

Shinji's fingers moved so fast over the keyboard that they were nearly a blur. Melissa Mao looked on with interest, supplying passwords when necessary to establish a link to the Mithril satellite.

"You managed, with only things scavenged in an apocalypse, to establish an internet?" Melissa asked, impressed.

"The school already had most of the equipment: phone lines, computers, that kind of stuff. The infrastructure is still there, we just took advantage. We'd send the runners out for the harder stuff, but even that can be found in most electronic stores. The real issue was keeping the generator operational and fed. We had some contact with other settlements but that contact was unpredictable," Shinji answered.

Sousuke watched the commands that Shinji typed and could not make any sense of them. Mao seemed to understand and even anticipate the next steps, helpfully pointing out what seemed to be short cuts to the places Shinji wanted to find information. The room they were in was incredibly small and only the three of them could fit.

"Ah, here we go," said Shinji, fingers pausing.

"Your back door?"

"Yeah. Ever since Sousuke told us that Gauron was bad news, I wrote a few programs and installed this back door into the system. Gauron knew his way around computers even though he tried to convince me he was just a novice."

The tapping keys were oddly soothing to Sousuke.

"Okay, I'm in. When we were being kicked out, I ran and activated these programs, camouflaged them, and even if Gauron was looking, he'd have a really have a hard time finding them."

"Oh, I see," said Melissa as the computer beeped and suddenly the monitor was filled with information that Shinji hadn't typed. "You had the program copy both sent and received emails and put them in this folder."

"Exactly. I'm sure that Gauron is using the internet to talk to whoever…"

"Amalgam," supplied Sousuke. "What does it say?"

Shinji laughed, completely relaxed and in his element. "They didn't even speak in code. They don't know who they messed with. So far, it's just status updates from Jindai." Shinji scrolled down. "Seems like Gauron and his men have taken over. No more Round Table; they've taken all the weapons and ammo and order people there to work for them. Most people are still pretty sick."

Sousuke wasn't surprised. He had wondered how long it would take when he first saw Gauron and was slightly surprised that it had taken him as long as it did.

"Okay, I see something here about Kaname. They don't use her name, but it has to be her."

"What does it say? Is she okay?" demanded Sousuke.

"Yes. They're 'awaiting delivery of the asset.'"

Sousuke read over Shinji's shoulder. "They're thinking about inducing? Does that mean they're in a hospital?"

"Wait," Shinji scrolled down some more. "I don't recognize the server, definitely not the hospital's, but there's some talk of a 'captured horde.'"

"It has to be some place big," said Mao. "Medical facility abilities and a place to keep Deltas? Is there any mention of anything around them?"

"Hold on," Shinji kept pressing the down arrow. "No, it doesn't seem so."

"Shit," Sousuke couldn't keep the expletive in; he was so frustrated and worried for Kaname. She was far enough along that inducing her delivery wouldn't be harmful, but he hated that she'd be alone during that time. She was strong, but he knew that she had no idea that they were after the baby and that they wouldn't tell her.

"Wait! No, here's something! They mention the river! They say that waterlogged infected are easy targets," exclaimed Shinji.

"Shou Convention Center," said Mao and Sousuke at the same time. While the river wound its way through the whole city, it was largely surrounded by protected park areas or fishing and freighting areas. The main exception was the Shou Convention Center.

Shinji snapped his fingers. "They were having a medical convention when the infection first came out. I bet they have a ton of equipment already set up and the other stuff could be scavenged."

Sousuke gave his friend a questioning look. Shinji smiled, "Kyouko was going to go to the convention with one of her professors. When we were locked up in university's cafeteria, she kept talking about what she'd be doing if we weren't stuck there."

Sousuke nodded. He turned to Mao, his face stony in its seriousness.

"So we raid the Convention Center," he said more than asked.

"Sounds like fun," Mao answered with a devilish smile.

-z-

It was all taking too long.

Sousuke had wanted to start the raid the next day, but Tessa had ordered more information-gathering. They had to find the complete set of floor plans for Shou Convention Center and they continued to monitor the emails between Jindai and the Center to gather intel on how many they'd be facing and what weapons and capabilities they had. Tessa briefed other soldiers and ordered that they come up with multiple extraction scenarios.

It, of course, made sense, but as days passed, Sousuke's frustration levels continued to rise and rise.

He helped where he could. He sat in on meetings discussing tactics to use. Though Sousuke conceded leading the mission, he had insisted on being a part of the front line. Mithril acquiesced only after they understood that if they didn't honor his request, Sousuke would go in alone.

Little by little, plans came together and they developed contingencies for their contingencies.

After one such meeting where they finally set the date for the raid the day after next, Shinji met Sousuke as he exited the room. He didn't say anything, just handed him a piece of paper.

Sousuke scanned the document. It was printout of an email from Amalgam to Jindai. It was just one two-word sentence: "Asset delivered."

Sousuke turned and punched the wall, breaking his left hand.

-z-

The doctor tutted over Sousuke's hand as she wound the bandage over it.

"This could have been much worse," she said

Sousuke just sat and relished in the pain. He wasn't there for Kaname when she delivered the baby, the baby she wanted to raise with him. He had failed, was currently failing, both of them now.

"You can't just go around punching walls, understand? Hurting yourself certainly won't solve any problems and will probably make things worse."

She was right, but Sousuke continued to pout. He'd now be limited in the kinds of weapons he could bring on the raid in two days.

The doctor finished and Sousuke flexed his fingers. There was pain, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

"Thank you," he finally said to the doctor.

"Look," she leveled with him, "nothing bad is going to happen to your girl and that baby in the next couple of days."

"How do you know?"

"If what I suspect is happening and they want to run experiments on that little baby, both mother and baby are going to need to be healthy. They probably don't have formula, so Kaname will have to feed the baby herself and she needs to be healthy to do that. They'll probably be taking blood samples from the baby, but they'll want a lot, enough to run full spectrum of experiments on, so with an infant, that means just a little at a time, and they'll definitely be protecting the health of that little one."

Sousuke felt like crying. He had forced himself not to consider the kinds of things they'd do to Kaname's baby. Even the relatively tame scenario that the doctor presented him filled him with despair and a violent rage. But he had to admit that the doctor was probably right.

Sousuke nodded. "Okay. Thanks again."

He turned and left, beginning the longest 48 hours of his life.

-z-

The hours slowly passed as Sousuke was lectured by Tessa, then with tactical meetings, and a long sleepless night.

The next day held more meetings, weapons maintenance, followed by simulated dry runs on the top deck. The bright spot in the day was that Sousuke realized how well that he, Mao, and Kurz were able to work together. After only a few hours of exercises, they were able to anticipate each other's actions. Of course, Mao and Kurz had been working well together for a while, but Sousuke fit into their well-oiled machine like he'd always been there.

"Nicely done, Sousuke," Kurz complimented after their last exercise.

"Yeah, are you sure you haven't been trained?"

"Well, I have in a way. Just not in any military." Sousuke found himself wanting to share with his new teammates, but bit off any more explanation. He needed to focus on the future, on the next day, not the past.

Kurz and Mao nodded their heads and didn't press. Sousuke was grateful.

"Well, I think those Weak Dicks don't stand a chance against us tomorrow," Kurz finally crowed, throwing an arm over Mao's shoulder. This earned him an elbow from Mao.

"Ow, Sis, what's that for?"

"For trying to grab my tit, asshole!"

"I would never…"

"Never pass an opportunity to grope me? Yeah. I know. You're lucking I don't just shoot you and put you out of my misery."

"You'd miss my sexy bod too much. Plus Tessa fire you for killing her best sniper."

"She'd give me a fucking medal, you mean…"

Sousuke watched the banter with a confused fascination. Melissa was Kurz's superior and he followed her every command during their practice runs, but now that didn't seem to matter in their down time. Then Sousuke noticed that they kept sneaking sly looks at him and it dawned on him. This performance was for his benefit. They were, in their own fucked up way, trying to cheer him up.

And it worked? For the first time in days, Sousuke wasn't overwhelmed with anxiety and guilt for losing Kaname. Of course those feelings came crashing back as soon as he noticed they were gone, but he was a little shocked that they'd been successful.

"I look forward to working with you two tomorrow," he said before leaving.

Both flashed him wide grins and said, "Same here," in unison.

Sousuke knew that they'd be the optimal team to help him save Kaname and that brought him some peace

-z-

The raid began before dawn. Since Mithril had to come in using helicopters, they would only have the hope that most of Amalgam would be sleeping as their element of surprise.

Under Tessa's command, the squads went out just as they had planned and practiced over the past week.

The Shou Center was a huge, four story building set on several dozen acres of formerly-pristine lawn.

Mithril's helicopters set down on the grassy mall next to the convention center without drawing any fire. At least not right away.

As soon as the copter's runners hit the ground, Sousuke and his team were out and running to one of the building's side doors. They were half way there before the first shots were fired from the convention center.

Based on the intel, Amalgam probably didn't have enough power to engage the security system and would instead be relying on manned entry points. They had generators, of course, but those were probably being routed to their communications and experiments.

Sousuke, Mao, and Weber flew through the unlocked door, shooting down the guards just inside who had been shouting into walkie talkies. Thanks to the floor plans they'd found, the team easily made their way through the twists and turns of the hallways to the rooms that were most likely to hold Kaname.

They wouldn't need to investigate the largest rooms. In fact, the smaller the room, the easier to keep it cool and sterile for mother and baby's health in the late summer heat. There were ten such rooms scattered through the convention center and five teams were assigned to find all of them. Other teams were assigned to contain the violence and to establish control over any scientists and experiments that they could find.

Mao's walkie talkie began to squawk as other teams began to fan out and encounter resistance. Sousuke could hear gunshots and shouting behind the walls.

After turning a blind corner, the trio encountered an Amalgam soldier screaming into his walkie, "Don't fucking release them, yet! There's too many of us that'll be caught in the crossfire!" He didn't get any further after Weber put a bullet between his eyes with just one shot from his rifle.

Sousuke flexed his broken left hand, feeling the sweet throbbing pain that would keep him sharp and on task. Then he reworked the grip on his Glock in his right hand, ready for anything.

Information kept coming in. Mithril was pushing Amalgam into retreat. There had been several surrenders and many teams were finding the enemy scientists were no threat at all. Two squads had found empty rooms where Kaname might have been.

Sousuke's group came into the center arboretum of the convention center and took a hard right to find the first room that might have Kaname. The skylight let in the first rays of the morning's sun. The room, the hub of the ground floor of the building, had seen much better times. Dark brown marks stained the carpeting and walls. Those attending the medical convention had fallen just like everyone else during the initial outbreak.

"Three, two, one," counted down Mao before they pushed in the door that might contain Kaname.

"Unit 2, negative on Charlie target," Mao announced to her radio. "Proceeding to Delta."

Suddenly, the team stopped, pausing to listen harder to the unmistakable sound of moaning infected.

"Speaking of Delts…" quipped Weber.

"Those fuckers," Mao spat. "Only idiots would think that Whiskey Deltas could be used as weapons."

"Let's go," said Sousuke. "It doesn't matter anyway, until we have Kaname and the baby."

They made their way back to the arboretum as information on the horde came through the speakers on Mao's radio. They'd been released from the southwest corner of the center and numbered in the hundreds. Mithril had already lost contact with two soldiers in the ensuing confusion.

"We keep it tight together and as quiet as possible," ordered Mao, hunched over her machine gun and stalking forward with even more care than before. It sounded like all hell was breaking loose and it was getting closer and closer.

The next target was closer to the oncoming infected horde, but they still made their way slowly. They effectively used mirrors around corners to evade both infected and Amalgam soldiers.

They were only two turns and a few dozen meters away from the target when they heard a high, feminine shout and a gunshot. Sousuke broke ranks and ran. As he turned the corner, the sight that met him turned his blood to water.

Kaname, clad in a hospital gown and slippers, holding a small bundle, stood over a dead Amalgam soldier with a smoking gun in her shaking hands.

"Kaname!" Sousuke shouted.

Kaname turned, wide-eyed, blinking dumbly. "Sousuke?" she finally said as Mao and Weber finally caught up.

"Oh!" said Mao, surprised. Then she grinned. "So I guess you didn't need rescuing, huh? Nice."

Despite his numbness, Sousuke forced his legs to take him to Kaname. "Are you okay?"

Kaname threw the gun away and took shaky steps of her own right into Sousuke's arms. "Yeah," she breathed. "We both are."

Sousuke leaned back to consider the small thing Kaname cradled in her arms. She looked up with a bewildered smile, "Sousuke, meet Shizu. Shizu, this is your daddy."

Sousuke took in the red, scrunched, sleeping face and felt a million things at once. He mostly felt completely and utterly in love with this new life Kaname had brought into the world, followed closely by the awesome amount of responsibility he had in keeping this little one alive. Kaname seemed to understand his feelings and she craned her neck to get her face closer to Sousuke's. He smiled and gave her a long, sweet kiss.

"This is a very touching moment and all," said Mao, "but we need to get our asses out of here before we all become some Weak Dick's next meal."

"Can you walk?" asked Sousuke.

Kaname winced. "Yes, but running is probably not a good idea." She looked incredibly tired. "There is a wheelchair…"

"On it," said Weber, disappearing down the hallway. Mao gave the update into her walkie talkie.

"Are you sure you're okay? What did they do to you? To Shizu?"

"They kept me pretty drugged. I know they induced. It hurt, but Shizu came out crying and perfect." She looked back down at the baby girl. "After that, they couldn't keep me as drugged because I needed to feed her. My head cleared and I figured out that they didn't see me as a threat. So when they moved me, I guess because you all are here, I took the guard's gun and…"

"Saved yourself," chirped Mao.

Kaname nodded, allowing herself a small smile.

Weber rounded the corner, pushing a wheelchair ahead of him. "Your chariot awaits, Angel. And baby Angel," he said gallantly.

The moaning, meanwhile, hadn't subsided, and the gunfire was getting closer. Information from the radio let the squad know that the arboretum was now overrun.

"We'll take the tertiary route," said Mao, directing the group down a dark hallway.

"Sousuke," Kaname whispered, "what is going on?"

As the group wound its way from hallway to hallway, Sousuke filled her in on Amalgam and Mithril. Finally, he said, "They think that Shizu might have the cure to the infection."

Kaname only nodded and hugged the baby closer. She looked on the verge of tears.

They all turned left through swinging double doors. They were in the kitchen. It was huge, filled with dusty stainless steel appliances and the unmistakable groaning of infected.

Sousuke stayed behind the wheelchair as Mao and Weber fanned out to take out any infected and find a clear path through the kitchen to the door that would lead them outside.

Gunshots rang out, nearly deafening in the close quarters, as both Mao and Kurz took out the lurching infected. The baby startled in Kaname's arms and began to cry. Sousuke readied his gun. He hadn't shot it yet that morning. He turned and made sure no infected had followed them through the swinging doors. He hastily moved a heavy table in front of the doors. It would only stop an approaching horde for a few moments, but it was better than nothing.

"We've got a path! Let's go!" ordered Mao.

Sousuke found that it was hard to steer the wheelchair with his broken left hand while holding the gun in his right hand ready. Kurz saw this and immediately took over. Mao led Kurz through the narrow paths in the kitchen and Sousuke brought up the rear.

Suddenly, Sousuke heard gunshots and saw the wall ahead of them give way in two small explosions. Sousuke swung around, diving under a counter for cover, yelling, "Get her out! I'll catch up."

He watched as Weber sprinted through the door pushing Kaname who was hunched protectively over the baby.

When the door shut behind them, Sousuke rolled from his current hiding place to one with more lines of sight. Another shot rang out, hindering any further escape.

"Ah. I knew it had to be you." A familiar voice filled the room.

"Gauron!"

"It must be fate. Amalgam finding me after the infection spread; Mithril finding you." Gauron laughed. "Of course, I chose the side that's going to win. Thanks to that baby girl, Amalgam is going to rule the world. People will sell their souls for an antidote, a vaccine."

"You don't know if the baby has the antidote!"

Gauron chuckled. "Baby girls have other uses, then, that people pay a lot of money for, too."

Sousuke saw red. It was too much. He pushed himself to his feet and faced Gauron, both of their guns drawn. Teeth bared, Sousuke breathed evenly, "You'll never see that baby. Ever."

"That bleeding heart of yours has done nothing but interfered with the great man you could have been. How about we make it a literal bleeding heart?" With that, Gauron squeezed off a shot.

Sousuke, anticipating it, weaved to the right and felt the stinging heat of the bullet grazing his cheek. He pulled his own trigger before crashing into a refrigerator and falling into a squat.

Gauron was still grinning as he turned slowly to Sousuke's new position. He swung his gun slowly so that its laser target hit Sousuke right in the middle of his forehead.

Sousuke didn't have time to react. He just held his breath, but realized that Gauron wasn't firing. Instead, a trickle of blood escaped the corner of his grinning mouth. Then Gauron's eyes rolled back and the man's body collapsed to the floor, dead.

Sousuke sprinted out the door, the sudden sunlight blinding him temporarily. He heard another gunshot and felt the flecks of stone from the wall next to his head bite into his face. In front of him, just to his right, an infected dropped to the ground.

"Hurry!" yelled Weber from the safety of the closest helicopter. The grounds were packed with undead milling around. Two helicopters had already taken off. One had tilted its blades to help shred a few infected before making its way up into the clear morning sky, flinging rotted blood throughout the air.

In one final push, Sousuke sprinted between the infected as fast as his legs would take him. Many tried to reach out and grab him, but their reflexes weren't strong enough for his speed. Twelve seconds later, he was in the helicopter and it was taking off. He strapped himself in and turned to see a laughing Kaname.

"I knew you'd make it," she said, wiping a tear away.

"It's not a problem," he returned. An exhausted relief overtook his senses. He allowed himself to hope things were about to really turn around.

The next thing he realized was that the helicopter was dipping, then recovering, lurching everyone in their seats. Kaname screamed, then screamed again as Sousuke saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

It was a crawler, no legs, and entrails dragging after it. It must have grabbed on to one of the landing skids and pulled itself up as they took off. The helicopter dip and correction effectively helped the crawler through open door, landing it at Kaname's feet.

They all reacted instantaneously. Kaname, shielding the baby, punched at it with her bare fist. Mao turned and shot it through the head without a moment's hesitation. Kurz grabbed one of its arms and flung it out the open door.

They all gave each other wide, surprised looks. Kaname broke down into tears, hugging a crying Shizu even tighter.

"Kaname?" Sousuke asked.

"I hit it in the mouth!" she cried.

The words didn't make sense to Sousuke until she held out her hand, blood dripping from her knuckles.

"Sousuke," Kaname's tear-filled eyes pinned Sousuke with despair and importance. "You take good care of Shizu for me okay?"

Already, the skin around the tooth marks was starting to turn green.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AN2: Another heinous cliffhanger. So many apologies. I promise, the next chapter is coming soon. And it's the last chapter! Almost done! Thanks for sticking with me through this fic. I'm happy to hear what you think.


	12. And All I Feel is this Cruel Wanting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaname fights the infection for as long as she can.

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

12\. And All I Feel is this Cruel Wanting

-z-

Pandemonium reigned both inside Sousuke's head and in the landing helicopter.

Kaname shoved Shizu at Sousuke, crying hard. "Take her before I do something else dumb that gets her killed!"

Shocked into paralysis, Sousuke cradled the wailing baby on his shoulder as he tried to think of a way out of whatever had just happened. I was so impossible. It couldn't be. They were finally together again. They had Shizu. It couldn't end like this. It just couldn't.

"Oh, I'm so stupid! So stupid!" moaned Kaname over and over while Mao wrapped her hand in a bandage. She was nearly hysterical.

"Shh," cooed Kurz, awkwardly patting Kaname's shoulder. "We'll figure this out. We're landing now." He looked sad and scared.

Kaname vehemently shook her head. "No. It's over." She hiccupped and forced herself to calm down, demeanor changing. "She'll need to feed in about an hour." She attempted to be all business as she gave instructions on how to care after Shizu. "I don't know if you all will have formula. I can't give her anything now," her face crumpled once again as she wept.

They touched down on the upper deck of the submarine, instantly surrounded by Mithril soldiers and doctors.

"She's bit," warned Mao and everyone froze, some soldiers reaching for their weapons.

"Don't you touch her!" roared Sousuke. He felt completely helpless, but he would protect her for a long as he could.

Kurz tried to placate everyone. "Hey, if the baby has the antidote…"

"It'll take too long. Kaname has minutes as it is," reminded Melissa.

"She's not your guinea pig," wept Kaname as she was helped into another wheelchair.

Tessa made her way through the crowd, calming the situation. "Ms. Chidori," she said, approaching the new mother. "I'm so sorry. We'll take you and Sousuke some place quiet as the change happens, okay? The baby will be safe, I promise." Sousuke guessed that this wasn't the first time someone returned who had been bitten.

Kaname only nodded miserably. After a deep breath, everything seemed to relax around them. Finally, she asked, "Can I just see her one more time?"

Tessa gestured to Sousuke and he squatted next to the wheelchair holding out the baby in his hands. Shizu had tired herself out with crying and was once again sleeping.

Even through her tears, Kaname smiled brilliantly at her child. "She's so beautiful," she whispered. She reached out with her uninjured hand and hovered it over the thin dark hair on her head, then held it near Shizu's plump cheek. It seemed Kaname couldn't bring herself to touch her baby, afraid of passing along the infection. Kaname dabbled her finger over the baby's mouth, feeling her breath. A gentle smile played on Kaname's mouth. After a few moments, Kaname's breath hitched once again and she nodded at Sousuke.

He stood and handed Shizu to a waiting Kurz. Tessa led the way as Sousuke pushed a weeping Kaname into an open corridor and into a small room with a table, very similar to the one where Tessa had explained Mithril and Amalgam to Sousuke.

"I won't let Sousuke do it!" said Kaname suddenly.

"We'll have a guard outside, for when the time comes," said Tessa solemnly.

They sat at the table, side-by-side, as the door closed behind them. The room was dominated by a large mirror that Sousuke suspected was two-way. They'd have an audience for Kaname's last minutes. The thought both angered him and relieved him. They'd know when to step in. When to force him out. When to… When it was time for Sousuke to work on protecting just Shizu. He inwardly promised he would do a better job of it than he had done with Kaname.

Sousuke took Kaname's hands, careful of the bandage wrap. Kaname gave a small laugh as she noticed that he had his own wrap that seemed to mirror her own. "What did you do?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter," Sousuke said. "I'm so sorry."

"Idiot," said Kaname. "Everything about you matters. It's because of you that I lived this long. It's because of you that we have Shizu. I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to abandon you with her. I really wanted…" her voice cracked and more tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I know," Sousuke said.

"There's still so much that I want to tell you. While they had me, I'd promised that I wouldn't let a day go by without telling you how much you mean to me."

"Shh, Kaname."

She got serious, "It's okay. For Shizu: Be sure to tell her about her family. Both sides. About my father. And tell her about me and how much I loved her and how much we were looking forward to having her. Tell her how sorry I am."

Sousuke felt the tears welling up. "I will. I will do my best with her."

"You'll be a wonderful father. I'm just so sorry that I'll miss it."

Sousuke felt tears slip out and roll down to the corners of his mouth. There was so much to say and the words seemed to have hit a traffic jam in his throat. Nothing could come out.

They sat in silence, staring intently into one another's eyes for a long time. Sousuke wanted to embrace her so badly. He wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her deeply, make everything okay, but they couldn't risk further infection. There was only one thing left to say.

"I love you, Kaname."

Kaname smiled through her own tears. "I love you, too."

They gripped each other's hands and waited.

And waited.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Sousuke scowled. They still had more time!

He rose and opened the door, surprised to see Shinji and a finally-mobile Kyouko. "Are we too late?" Shinji asked, breathless.

"Oh, Kaname!" Kyouko pushed her way in and threw herself into her friend's arms. Kyouko's recovery had been swift thanks to the excellent doctor on the submarine.

Kaname hugged her tight before pushing her away. "Kyouko! I was so worried." Kaname started crying again. This made Kyouko sob and Shinji sniff through his own tears.

"You're so skinny," Kyouko finally remarked. "The last time I saw you, you could barely walk! They said you had the baby and that it was here?"

"It's a girl, Shizu, and she's perfect," said Kaname with a little pride.

"We'll help Sousuke," blurted Shinji.

"With three of us helping, little Shizu is sure to grow up happy. Well, as happy as she could be without…" Kyouko dissolved into tears once again.

I-love-yous and I'll-miss-yous were passed back and forth among friends. Sousuke saw that Kaname looked grateful and completely exhausted. This had to be wearing on her. And she wouldn't want them to see her change, so Sousuke announced, "If we could just have these last minutes…"

Kyouko straightened, winced, then straightened more slowly, the wound still taking its toll on her. "Okay," she started sniffling anew. She slowly followed Shinji out of the room with a longing look that Sousuke completely understood. There was still so much time that they should have together. There was more to say, more to promise, enough love to share for decades and even after. This wasn't fair.

Sousuke took his seat next to Kaname once again. It began to feel strange, all of this waiting for someone who still looked so healthy to get sick and die. They only had… minutes? Whatever the case, Sousuke would wait for however long it should take, even if nothing was currently happening.

After several more long minutes, Sousuke cleared his throat. An awful feeling rose from his belly. It was tempting and beautiful and would crush him into nothing if it was wrong: hope.

"Kaname, how are you feeling?"

"Tired," she answered instantly.

Sousuke dropped her hand and cupped her face, forcing her to look him directly in the eyes. Yes, they were bloodshot, but from crying. They weren't the intense red of someone recently infected.

"You're not coughing," said Sousuke. "If you were infected, you'd be coughing. You would have turned already…"

"Sousuke," said Kaname with a gently. "You're going to have to be strong, okay? From The List, remember first rule? No exceptions. A bite will always spread the infection."

"No." The hope wouldn't let him go. It had been something like twenty-five or thirty minutes since the infected's teeth had pierced Kaname's skin. He argued, "The third rule also says that that infection happens earlier than 30 minutes. And I've never personally seen it take longer than five minutes. You're not changing."

"Sousuke." Kaname had the look of a teacher who is disappointed that a pupil was not getting a simple concept. "No exceptions. I want to hope, too. But it's better to just face reality."

"Fuck reality," Sousuke grumbled as he took Kaname's injured hand and began unwinding the bandage.

"Careful," said Kaname.

The gauze fell to the table as Sousuke's heart exploded with optimism. The green and red striations that had been forming around the wound had disappeared. Only angry pink skin surrounded the teeth marks. Kaname gasped.

Sousuke stood and went to the door. The guard there wasn't anyone Sousuke recognized. The man sighed and reached for his sidearm.

"Stop," said Sousuke. "She's not infected."

"My orders," the man said.

"Go get the captain. Now."

-z-

The small room was getting crowded. Tessa had brought the doctor, and Kyouko had returned with Shizu who was sleeping contentedly in Kaname's arms. Sousuke stood back and regarded the scene with confused happiness.

That same feeling was reflected in Kaname's expression. The doctor was turning her hand back and forth, searching for any sign of infection.

"She's clear," the doctor finally said. "For now. We still need to keep her under observation. It could be that she's just a carrier, in which case, she could still be contagious."

Kaname froze, wide eyed, and motioned for Sousuke to come take the baby.

He did so as Tessa answered, "That's unlikely, based on the way this infection works. It only spreads by killing the cells it encounters. Kaname would most likely be dead if she was truly infected."

"Most likely?" Kaname asked.

Tessa nodded. "There's another possibility." She nodded at the baby cradled in Sousuke's arms. "Amalgam may have really found the cure."

Kaname only gave Tessa a confused look.

Tessa continued, "Based on the research that we've just recovered, I would say that it's more likely we have a cure than I would consider you a carrier." Tessa took a breath, considering how to continue. "It's biology. The 'vitamins' you took all through your pregnancy were able to work within Shizu's fetal development to create a biological cure within Shizu as she came to term. Their drug passed the placental barrier that keeps fetal blood separated from the mother's system. But sometimes, during labor and delivery, there can be placental breaks that allow the baby's blood to pass over into the mother's system."

"Oh," said Kyouko. "Like in rhesus positive pregnancies. Second pregnancies of rh positive babies in rh negative mothers are at more risk because of a chance that fetal blood got into the mother's system, and she'll develop antibodies against rh positive fetuses in the future. It does happen that baby's blood can cross over."

"Exactly," said Tessa.

Sousuke was still a little confused. "So Shizu has the cure in her blood and that blood crossed over into Kaname and now she's… immune to the infection?"

"Yes. It's possible," said Tessa with the doctor nodding along with the theory.

Kaname frowned. "I think my baby has been poked and prodded enough already."

"Ms. Chidori, if you have the cure, we may not need to test little Shizu at all," said the doctor.

Kaname only considered this for half a second before offering her arm and saying, "Take as much as you need," with an intense look.

-z-

Mithril didn't have many scientists; at least not on Tessa's submarine. But they did have the captured/rescued Amalgam scientists that they had been able to bring from Shou Convention Center. Most had come willingly, carrying what they could of their research. Mithril had not been able to find Leonard, who it seemed was in charge of that branch of Amalgam. He either had not been at the convention center during the raid, or had found a way to escape.

As the scientists tested Kaname's blood, Kaname mentioned the intense resemblance between Tessa and Leonard. Tessa confided to Sousuke and Kaname that Leonard was her brother. She hadn't mentioned it previously because she was so ashamed that her twin so eagerly joined a group of scientists who took no care about ethics in their work. He was brilliant, but he felt he was entitled to more power as a result. In fact, he often led the scientists he worked with to take more and more short cuts.

Those captured scientists who had previously been under Leonard's command all volunteered to continue working on their experiments for Mithril. Sousuke suspected it was the science that was the draw for these people, not the promises of power and fortune. In any case, their current cooperation kept them out of the brig, where the few captured Amalgam soldiers were passing their time.

Within days of study, the scientists agreed with Tessa. Any time Kaname's blood came into contact with infected cells or tissue, the infection died and the surviving tissues thrived. They were soon able to locate the cells within the plasma that seemed to hold the cure, add them to their own serums to help replicate and preserve the cure, distilling a vaccine of sorts.

Since animals weren't affected by the infection, and since the need was so pressing, the scientists called for human volunteers to take the vaccine.

Sousuke wanted to volunteer, but Kaname made him promise to wait, just in case something went wrong.

One brave young Mithril soldier named Suna stepped forward and asked for the vaccine. He was injected. The injection site turned green and red for a moment, then faded. Thirty minutes later, he was still healthy and uninfected.

At the same time, the scientists were trying to find a way to introduce the serum into weapon technology to see how it would work on an infected, lurching, blood-hungry body. With the lack of biological technology on the submarine, they decided to just try coating ammunition in the serum and shooting an infected to see what happened.

Kurz took a high powered rifle with the special bullets into a helicopter and fired non-head shots into the infected that paced the bay of Western City.

He came back to the submarine whooping his success to Sousuke and Melissa. "Even if you just graze them, they go down!"

"You're losing your edge if you're just grazing them," scoffed Melissa.

"Ricochet of a through-and-through, Babe. Two Deltas with one bullet. I'm that good," Kurz waggled his eyebrows at his superior officer before tackling her in a hug with laughter. "This is all ending," he finally said.

Melissa returned his hug. "End of the end of the world, eh? I think that deserves a celebration."

"My bunk at nineteen hundred hours?" Kurz asked, joking.

"Only if you have beer," said Melissa, patting him on the shoulder with a sly smile before leaving the room.

Kurz sobered instantly. He then turned to Sousuke and said, "I may be getting laid tonight." He then whooped again. "Gotta go find some beer… Wish me luck!"

Sousuke shook his head, secretly amused. He wasn't quite sure that Mao had meant it in the way that Kurz hoped she did, but hope did strange things to people.

-z-

The feeling of elation at the success of the serum spread through the submarine. Group after group stepped forward to take "Suna's Vaccine." No one experienced any dire side effects. Some got a rash due to the serum that contained the cure, but it usually cleared within a day.

Further, the soldiers began volunteering en masse to go mainland and fight the infected. Tessa had told Sousuke that she hated sending soldiers to the mainland due to how dangerous the infection was, but dozens were simply begging to go, so she ordered a strike on the infected in the city.

During the afternoon of the strike, Sousuke was in the infirmary. Kaname had finally given her consent and he had just received Suna's Vaccine when three panicked soldiers, back from the strike, entered the room. One soldier had been badly bitten when their squad had been overtaken by infected in a blind alley. Most had been able to shoot their way out, but one infected made its way through to savagely bite on his upper thigh.

His two fellow squad members each helped him up onto the doctor's table. She went to work right away, taking scissors and cutting up the length of the injured man's pants to expose the wound. There was no mistake the infected had broken the skin. The green and red striations were vibrant against the man's white skin.

"Was he vaccinated?" asked the doctor.

His friends nodded. "We all were. Captain Testarossa wouldn't let us go if we weren't."

The doctor took clean gauze and water and began to wash off the deep wound. "This was really close to a major artery," she explained. "Missed it by about a centimeter. He could have bled out. I'm not sure he's not infected" She continued to wash out the wound. Then she took a flashlight and checked the soldier's eyes. One of his friends took out a gun and checked that there was a bullet in the chamber. He held it at his side.

Sousuke stayed quiet and tried to blend into the wall. He needed to see if the vaccine would truly work and was afraid if he said anything, they would notice him there and ask him to leave.

The bitten soldier moaned, tears seeping out of his eyes. "Tell me doc. Am I gonna turn?"

The doctor went back and cleaned out the wound again. The bleeding was slowing. She inspected the skin around the wound.

A clock on the wall ticked slowly. The main sound in the room was the injured soldier's panicked breathing. Everyone else held their breath.

After another minute of wetting and wiping the wound, the doctor, sounding relieved, said, "The striations are fading. It looks like the vaccine is working!" All tension left the room. "We'll keep him under supervision, but the news looks very, very good."

-z-

The next afternoon, the doctor cleared the bitten soldier and declared the vaccine a success. She did warn that further study of the vaccine was needed in order to determine if this was something that needed to keep being reintroduced into the body or find out if one vaccine was enough. But the take-away message was that the vaccine worked.

Infected were still dangerous, but one mere bite was not going to be a death sentence any more. The entire crew of the submarine thought that this was something worth celebrating. Suddenly, hidden stashes of liquor were brought out and hoarded sweets and candies were shared. Tessa, reading the mood, declared that evening as time off and no one had to report for duty. Anyone who wanted to, could revel in the main mess area. Almost every soldier took her up on this offer.

Sousuke had just come from a meeting with Tessa and was making his way back to Kaname. Tessa had shared that Shinji's program had revealed that while Amalgam was no longer in charge at Jindai, Gauron's two underlings were still fighting for power. However, they were meeting up with some resistance. Tessa had promised Sousuke that Mithril would send Jindai help just as soon as they could. Soldiers were volunteering every day to lead raids on Western City in order to both spread word of the vaccine and to take out as many infected as they had ammunition for. Strike teams were organized for the next several weeks to clear specific parts of the city.

Tessa had also offered Sousuke a part in these raids. He hesitated. He wasn't Mithril and with Shizu around, he felt he shouldn't take unnecessary risks, but he did want to help clear his city. He had promised Tessa that he would think about it and he would definitely consult with Kaname. Sousuke shook his head and gave a half smile as he made his way back to their bunk. Whatever Kaname's answer would be, he was sure it would be spirited. She was showing her old spark again and he was falling more in love with her than he ever thought possible.

Sousuke made his way through the main mess area where groups of soldiers that ranged from happily buzzed to truly intoxicated reveled together, singing songs and toasting the new age. He smiled and shook hands when they were offered to him. Many on the boat knew that he had something to do with their success, but they were not quite sure what. He only wanted to get back to his bunk. Their bunk.

The baby was fussy when he reentered the room; Kaname did her best to rock and bounce the baby in her arms, but Sousuke could see how tired she was.

"She's not hungry. She's not wet. I just don't know what to do," Kaname said, frazzled.

"This was all I could find," said Sousuke, showing the book's title to Kaname. It was Modern Maritime Law, Volume 1, that Tessa had loaned Sousuke. It was the original reason for their meeting. Kaname made a face at the title.

"Well, I guess it will put me to sleep, if nothing else."

Sousuke smiled and went to Kaname. He traced a finger down her cheek, pulling back some hair that had gotten in her face. She smiled genuinely at him then, leaned her face towards his. He gave her a long, gentle kiss that was only interrupted by a surprisingly loud wail from Shizu. He took a guess that the baby would be just as spirited as her mother.

Sousuke laughed, truly happy. "Okay, okay, you little tyrant. Let's learn about maritime law." He took the infant from her mother and Kaname promptly flopped down into the bed they shared. Sousuke sat in the room's chair and held Shizu with one hand so that she rested against his shoulder and with his other hand, he opened the book and began to read.

He kept his voice soothing and gentle, "Once upon a time, there was something called maritime law, also called admirality law. Maritime law is a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities that operate vessels on the oceans…"

Shizu was already beginning to quiet. He half-smiled at the book. Laws were going to be necessary and important again. Once they all worked together to kill the infected, the world had a second chance and they would need law and order again. Other things, however, would never be the same.

As awful as everything had been, and as much as they had all suffered, this was a world where Sousuke knew he could be with Kaname. He could love her openly, in the full light of day and no one would question it, even though he still did from time to time. A dirty street kid was making a family with the daughter of the head of one of the most powerful companies in the country, the woman he loved more than his own life, and it was still right.

Sousuke continued reading. Shizu yawned, tried to fuss, but then yawned again. Kaname snored softly from their bed. For as much was still wrong with the world, in this little room, in a submarine floating about a kilometer off the shore of a city still teeming with undead killing and eating any living thing they could get their hands on, Sousuke couldn't help but feel like everything was perfect.

END.

Author's note: Holy shit, y'all. This is the end. I kind of can't believe I finished it. To everyone who has stuck through it with me, waited for months on end for the next chapter to come out, who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed, thank you so, so much. If it wasn't for your encouragement, this story would have died after the third chapter. I will be writing a (very) short epilogue to the story, but for all intents and purposes, it's over. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought!


	13. Welcome to the New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven months later...

The Sickness

By Starzki

-z-

Epilogue: Welcome to the New World

-z-

Melissa weaved through the streets on her motorcycle as fast as the stalled cars in the street would allow her. Abandoned cars had been removed on the main thoroughfares, but they weren't as much of a priority on the side streets she now traveled. She even had to ride on the sidewalks in some places. It was still such a mess.

The air smelled of living things despite the low temperature of early spring, and this made Melissa smile. The winter had been pretty tough and she'd been busy trying to enforce law and order in a city low on food and any systematic resources to help those in need. The walking dead had been largely dealt with after two months of work by Mithril, then any volunteers they could take. Once word of the vaccine had spread and most of the survivors in Western City were inoculated, the tide had turned against the infected. Mithril had also been able to share the vaccine with other countries. The world was quickly ridding itself of the infection.

But the survivors could be just as deadly. Various settlements across the city had almost gone to war over food supplies and other provisions. The only thing that prevented it was Mithril's work in repairing communications within the city and Jindai's Hiyashimizu stepping into a leadership role. Melissa had worked hard with Hiyashimizu and his assistant Ren in cataloging the entire city's available resources and finding a way to distribute them fairly to each settlement. Through patience and an extraordinary talent for public speaking, he'd been able to convince people to band together so that all could survive the long winter.

It was Hiyashimizu that Melissa had been tasked to meet that day and she was looking forward to it. Winter was over. Things were growing again. The walking dead were no longer a threat. They were rebuilding. Mithril was ready to hand over the reins of governance back to the people of the country. They still had not located Leonard and had no idea what Amalgam was planning next. They needed to change their focus.

Melissa braked and cut the engine when she reached the gates of Jindai settlement. They were no longer barricaded against the dead, only locked at night to prevent living intruders.

The man at the door greeted her. "Mao. You're expected at the Round Table in ten minutes."

"Thank you Jin," she said.

Melissa looked around. It was still called a settlement, but not many people continued to live there. Once winter had really settled in, most people had left to find nearby houses or apartments that they could claim and make their own. Some returned to their own homes, but most opted for new housing closer by. Everyone was still expected to work and do what they could during the day at the settlement to keep everything going. Now that the ground was finally soft, she saw a dozen people working the land, preparing it for this year's crops.

"Sergeant Major," said a deep voice behind her.

She turned and saw Sousuke hunched over Shizu. The baby was "walking," supporting herself with tiny fists around Sousuke's fingers as she plodded one step in front of the other, guided by Sousuke.

"Morning stroll?" Melissa asked with a smile. "She's getting so big!"

"It seems she decided to skip crawling and go right to walking," Sousuke said.

Melissa squatted down to get a better look. She lightly pinched Shizu's fat cheek and was rewarded by delighted gurgle.

"You're coming to the Round Table?" Sousuke asked, though his attention remained on the baby who had decided to take a right turn toward the old softball field.

"Yes. Tessa thinks that Western City needs official leadership."

"You don't think it's too early?" Sousuke said, sounding skeptical. He grabbed Shizu under her arms and hoisted her onto his hip. She gave a small frustrated cry, but then snuggled into his shoulder.

"Well, I guess that's what we'll discuss. Mithril is willing to help sponsor an election. Of course, we think Hiyashimizu would be ideal for the position. We're able to get the equipment together for candidates to broadcast their platforms to other settlements around the city, and we'll charge a city-wide election committee to ensure honest and fair voting."

The two walked toward the mess hall. "I imagine that there will be a need for security," Sousuke said.

"Yes. And I know just the guy to head that up," Melissa said, smiling and nudging Sousuke with her elbow.

Sousuke looked serious. "If Hiyashimizu asks me, I will do it." Melissa smiled again, happy to see that little had changed in the seven months since they'd discovered the cure. She looked again at the sleepy Shizu. It was hard to believe that this little baby had saved the world. It was even harder to believe that hardly anyone knew it. Kaname had asked that any reports on the vaccine and cure they sent or recorded not use their names. Kaname only wanted to survive, become a regular person, just like anyone else, and be with her family in peace.

"Melissa!" came a friendly voice. Kaname ducked under the mess tent flap, wiping her hands on her apron. She'd resumed her role as head cook at Jindai. Akane had been nowhere to be seen once she and Sousuke had come back to the settlement. Apparently, she and the others who had supported Gauron had either been asked to leave or disappeared on their own once their new leader hadn't returned seven months before.

"Hey, Kaname. What's for lunch?" Melissa asked.

"I think a nice hot stew is in order for a cold day like today," she said, reaching for Shizu.

"I look forward to it after the meeting," said Melissa.

Sousuke handed Shizu to her mother, taking advantage of their nearness to give Kaname a lingering kiss. Kaname blushed, but smiled.

"And how's your Kurz," Kaname asked, seemingly to take attention away from Sousuke's kiss.

"My Kurz?"

Kaname laughed. "He's definitely your Kurz. He turns into an absolute puppy dog whenever you're around. It's just so cute."

Melissa scowled. Things had developed between them physically after the vaccine had been discovered. At first, Melissa had chalked it up to a drunken mistake, made in a fit of joy at the prospect of the end of the apocalypse. But it was a mistake that they seemed to make at least twice a week since that first night.

"Kurz is fine," Melissa growled. At least he still followed orders whenever they had to be professional. The whole thing still felt like a giant mistake. Kurz had even taken to writing love letters to her, not that she'd ever tell Kaname that. He wrote an entire letter in praise of her "amethyst orbs" that made her cringe in embarrassment, though she always kept it in her back pocket.

Kaname laughed again. "I think that meeting is going to start up soon. You better hurry over there to make it in time. I'll be sure to save you some stew."

Melissa reached out and pinched Shizu's cheek again for good measure, gave a grudging smile to Kaname, still annoyed at her teasing, then turned with Sousuke towards the former high school.

After a moment of silence, Melissa said, "You three seem really happy."

Sousuke didn't answer for a long time, but then said, "We're all working hard. We have an apartment, enough food to eat, are safe, and we can be together. That's all we want. Yes, we're happy."

"Good," said Melissa. "We're going to need some happy people around if any of this is going to work out. Now let's see if we can't rebuild this world of ours."

The two walked into the school building and found the classroom set up for the meeting. Ren smiled at them as they took their seats, marked something down on her clipboard and whispered to Hiyashimizu.

"Wonderful," he said. "Now that we're all here, let's get started…"

END.

Author's Note: Okay. This is the end for real. I'll have my final thoughts on this story over at Livejournal or at Dreamwidth if you're interested in my notes. Thanks again to everyone who gave support to this fic. I can't tell you how much it meant to me over these years. I love all of you who made it this far into the fic and saw it out until the end. Thank you, thank you, thank you.


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